A Mockingjay about to Soar
by gabslvstvd
Summary: It's time for the 74th Annual Hunger Games and the tributes are...Madge Undersee and Gale Hawthorne. This is the story of how the Games would have been if they were chosen.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, Tributes. This is my first Gadge fanfict so I hope you'all like it. I first found out about Gadge by reading fanficts so it inspired me to make one of my own.

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does. If you didn't know that, then you're not a true Hunger Games fan.**

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><p>I stood at the sixteen age section in the square. As I looked around I saw many girls around me with worried expressions. I hated this. But not because I feared for my own safety, but because I hated what some of these people had to go through today. I knew I wasn't supposed to think that way, being the mayor's daughter and all, but I couldn't help it. I guess that's just how things were, but it wasn't fair. The Games weren't fair.<p>

_But who am I to say that_, I thought. I was Madge Undersee. The Major's daughter, the shy, quiet girl who had everything she needed more than enough, when most people in the district could barely afford for one meal.

It was a hot day, too hot. People start to sweat, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the heart or of nervousness. Finally, when the square is full, dad steps up to the podium to read the story of Panem. About how the country rose, about the disasters, and about the Dark days. It's hard to imagine it all, since it was more than 75 years ago, but there are some elders who were alive during the dark days. After dad finishes, he introduces Effie Trinket who says with her Capitol accent, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the Odds be Ever in your favor!"

This year, she is wearing a big pink wig that is sort of coming off. She is trying to hang on to it but it's still sliding off. I had to admit some of the capital people where freaky, with squeaky voices but again, who am I to judge. Just like every year she says " Ladies first!" and heads towards the bowl with all the girls names and as she reaches in, tension fills up my chest.

We all watch her walk back to the microphone, smooth's out the slip of paper and says in a clear voice, "Madge Undersee."

Dread fills me up, but somehow my legs work and take me automatically towards the podium. As I climb the steps I hear shock whispers coming from the crowd. Who would had thought that the majors daughter could be reaped? At the same time, my dad rises from his seat just as surprised. "Madge? How can this be?" he says but makes no advancement towards me, which is probably a good idea. Meanwhile, when I reach my spot I am concentrating hard on not crying keeping my eyes locked on the ground. Effie asks for a round of applause, and obediently the crowd claps. Then, she heads towards the boys bowl, digging through and comes up with a slip.

Please don't let it be someone I know, I think, but just as that thought comes to my mind she says, "Gale Hawthorne."

_Dammit_, I think. No the odds are not in my favor today. _Why? Why him?_ I spot him coming through the crowd, already covered from his shocked expression. His face is smooth and unreadable he climbs the steps and takes his spot, looking not towards the crowd, but far away towards the hill surrounding the district. Dad recovers enough and comes to read the treaty of treason, but I can't concentrate anymore my thoughts are far away.

_Why me? Why him?_ Is all I can think. I know him. I see him every Sunday with Katniss when they come to our house with the strawberries. We may have only crossed a few words between us, but it's still not fair. I spot Katniss in the crowd, fear written all over her face but I don't know if it's for me, him, or both of us. _This is not good._

Finally, dad finishes and motions for us to shake hands. As our eyes meet, I see a flicker of anxiety but his hand is steady and firm in mine. We face the crowd once again as the anthem plays and as soon as it finishes we are taken into custody, almost like prisoners whisked towards their deaths, which is exactly where I'm going.

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><p><em>Ok, so what you guys think. If I get good responses then I'm going to continue<em> _posting the rest._

_Thanks for reading and Please_ REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello again tributes. Here's the next chapter. It's kind of short, but I promise the next ones will be longer_. _I'll try to upload as soon as I can. Read, Enjoy, and REVIEW._

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of the characters, the genius Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>As soon as we enter the Justice building, we are put into two separate rooms to say goodbye to our loved ones. I sit on a coach, waiting for my parents to arrive. I don't know what I'm going to tell them because we all know I'm not going to make it, but I can't let them see that I've already given up.<p>

The door opens and I immediately run into my dad's arms. "Oh, Madge honey. I don't know how this happened," he is telling me as I burry my face in his chest. "I'm sorry honey, it's okay."

I lift my head, looking around noticing it's just me and him in the room. "Where's mom?" I ask him wiping some of the tears that escaped my eyes.

"I'm sorry Madge, but she couldn't do it," he says. "This reminded her of what happened to your aunt… but she told me to tell you she loves you."

I nod my head in understanding and burry my face again while I hug him. We just stand there, hugging each other without speaking. Why should we anyway? We both know there's no chance of me coming back and any consolation would do no good. I let my tears slip while dad rubs my back gently and just as the peacekeepers come he tells me, "I love you, honey," giving me one last kiss on my forehead.

"Love you too, dad," I say "Tell mom I love her too." And just like that he's gone leaving me alone as more tears come. I slump back on the coach, expecting no one else, when the door opens and Katniss enters through it. She crosses to me and we just hug each other. Even though we rarely talk, she is the closest thing I have to a friend.

"Madge I'm sorry," she says "I should have volunteered for you, but I was just too shocked to react and when I did it was too late."

"No, Katniss. It's okay," I reassure her, "Besides your family needs you, Gale's family needs you know too. You have to take care of them for him."

"I know, it's just so unfair," she says with anger in her voice. I can tell she's not just talking about the Games, but of the Capitol itself and she's right.

"Have you talked to him?" I say curiously, pulling back to look at her.

"No, he's saying goodbye to his family. But don't worry I'm going to tell him to team up with you, so you'll have each other's backs and that way you'll be safer too," she says with determination on her eyes.

"You don't have to do that Katniss," I say but I feel a little bit of hope. With Gale by my side I'd probably last another day, but still end up dead in the end.

"All the same, I will," she says, "Just promise me you won't give up." Her eyes are intense as she looks into mine and I know I can't deny her that.

"I promise," I say, my voice breaking and then the peacekeepers appear.

She gives me one last hug and as they take her she yells back, "Remember, you promised!"

The peacekeepers come once again, but this time the come to take me. They escort me to a car that will take me to the train station. It's a short ride but I make all the effort to calm down before we arrive, knowing cameras will be there. I don't want to be marked as a weakling by the other competitors. Although me breathing has calmed down, my eyes are still puffy and a little red when we arrive.

Gale on the other hand appears almost bored. His face is smooth as we stand on the doorway to the train, allowing the cameras to get a shoot of us. This will be televised all over Panem for the citizens to get a glimpse of the tributes before arriving at the Capitol and start making bets. We are finally allowed to get inside and once we step on, the train doors close and it begins to move. We get one last look at our district as the train speeds away and all I can think of is, _I'm not coming back_.

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><p><em>What you guys think of the goodbyes? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the story or about how I can improve my writing.<em>

_Thanks for reading and **REVIEW**! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey, tributes, here's the next chapter. Good news, it's way longer than the first two. Yay! Hope you guys like the story so far. This chapter has more Gale too, so enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters used in this story… but I wish I did. Then I'd be rich! No but seriously all rights go to Suzanne Collins.

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><p>We stand there looking out as the last view of the woods of the district disappear, when Gale speaks up, "Don't worry, one of us is going to make it back." He's trying to be encouraging but it's not working on me.<p>

"Yeah, I know. You will," I say indifferently but then I remember the promise I made Katniss. Gale frowns at this and is about to say something when Effie appears. Her wig is fixed and she's in a good, bossy mood.

"Hello, Gale, Madge, I'll be your escort from now on until the Games. You probably already knew that, but I thought a formal meeting would be appropriate. Come, I'll show you your compartments where you'll be staying, so you can change. Follow me," she says and turns expecting us to follow.

Gale frowns looking at me. I shrug and tug behind Effie, who leads us down through some corridors. The train is really fancy, even more than some I've seen and been in. Sometimes, when dad gets invited to the Capitol mom and I accompanied him. I stop my train of thoughts right there, knowing it will only hurt me more thinking of home. I have to let go.

When we arrive she tells us to change again and she'll be here to collect us in an hour for dinner. I dress in a simple pink t-shirt and a white shirt, letting my hair down loose. At the last moment, I retrieve my gold pin from my dress. As I grasp it in my hands I remember what dad said earlier, "She couldn't do it… it reminded her of what happened to your aunt." I can't blame mom, but I still wish I could have given her one last hug.

My aunt, Maysilee Donner had been in the fiftieth Hunger Games. She wore this exact pin as her token during the games and that's what I intend to do myself. My mother gave me her pin when I was twelve for my first reaping and I have worn it in every reaping ever since. She died, but not in the hands of a tribute, but when some candy pink birds attacked her. I also remember she was allies with Haymitch, or so I've been told. _ I wonder if I'll remind him of her_, I think. Maybe not, it was a long time ago anyways. But what tribute is to say they forgot what happened in the arena. As far as I know, no one.

Effie comes to collect me and leads me to the dining room, where Gale is already seated. The seat beside him is empty, of course. Haymitch is probably drunk somewhere around the train. We say nothing about his absence, plus a look at Effie's face says she's relieved he's not here. As soon as we sit down, we are served courses of delicious food. I can tell Gale isn't really trusting about what they are serving but his hunger must have won over because he finishes everything. When we are done, Effie leads us to another compartment to show us the replays of the reaping's.

I prepare myself to see what kind of competition we will be facing. Only a few of them stand out to me though. There's a very pretty girl from District 1, a huge boy from District 2 who volunteers and appears to be 18, but the one's that really catch my eye are the tributes from eleven. It's another massive boy with dark skin and worst of all a small twelve year old girl. I can't help but feel pity for her and one glance at Gale; I know he's thinking the same. Last they show our own district. Me stepping up as they call my name, thankfully looking calm, and later Gale's name being called. The anthem plays and the program ends.

"You two should get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big, big, day," Effie tells us, "Maybe tomorrow Haymitch will be able to join us."

He didn't show up at all, so we obediently agree. As I'm about to tell Gale goodnight, he catches my arm. "We need to talk," is all he says, his face serious.

"Okay, where do you want to go," I say, curious about what he wants to tell me.

He thinks for a minute, then surprisingly grabs my hand and leads ne down to the last train car. There are chairs and couches to sit on, so he releases my hand and we sit down. You can't really see anything from outside because it's so dark, but you can hear the animals and the wind as the train speeds away. I look at Gale and see that his face is wrinkled in concentration. He seems to be thinking on how to start, so I start for him.

"Do you want to be allies?" I ask. I don't know why I said it, but it was the first thought that crossed my mind.

He frowns slightly and I'm about to take it back when he says, "I was getting there."

I smile a small smile. "Yeah, well you took too long, plus I already had that thought in mind," I say trying to lighten the mood because there was some tension in the air between us. I wasn't really nervous, considering this was the first real conversation we ever had.

"Look, Katniss convinced me, but I didn't know what you thought about it, that's why I'm asking," he says giving me another frown.

I am beginning to think this is as far as friendship we'll get to, but there isn't any room anymore for that. His frown also made me wish to see what he looked like smiling. "Gale, you don't have to do this just because Katniss asked you. If you don't want to that's okay with me," I tell him sincerely. Sure, it would be easier for both of us but I don't want to force him into anything just because Katniss told him to.

His face softens a little and looks out into the night, without responding. I do the same and for a weird reason I find myself remembering what happened just this morning, when he and Katniss had come to my house with the strawberries. How he had told me I wouldn't be going to the Capitol because I only had five entries and now here we are.

He must be intone with my thoughts because he says, "I never thought you could be picked. I guess the reaping really is fair."

I sigh and say, "Me too, but my chances were slight, not impossible." I turn to look at him and see he's biting his lip as if trying to figure how to word something. "What?" I ask.

"Look, I don't know how to say this but… I'm sorry, okay," he says turning his head to face me.

Confused I ask "Sorry about what?"

"About taking a dig at you when we came to your house. I wasn't really mad at you, exactly, I was mad at…" he says but stops himself realizing someone could hear him.

"I know and you don't have to apologize. It's just like you said before, it's just the way it is," I say understanding.

He nods and looks out again. My exhaustion is catching up to me, so I stand up to leave, there's nothing more I have to say. "I'm going to get some sleep, you should too," I tell him and he just nods, but as I reach the door his voice stops me.

"Hey, Madge, I do want to be allies with you. It would benefit us both, I mean… if you still want to. And I'm not just saying it because Katniss told me to," he says and I turn my head to look at him. He face seems sincere.

"Okay, goodnight Gale," I say with a small smile.

"Goodnight, Madge," he says and just as I leave I catch his lips twitching up in a smile.

_Maybe he isn't like I thought he was_, I think as I head to my room.

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><p><strong>AN: **I tried really hard to capture Gale for how he was in the books, so I hope I did a good job on that and if not, feel free to critize me. Also, I didn't include Haymitch in this chapter but he will be in the next one.

**Thanks for reading and please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello fellow tributes. Here is the next chapter, sorry it took some time to upload but I've been kind of busy. Hope you guys like it, enjoy.**

**Oh! And the Hunger Games movie comes out today at Midnight! So excited!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. If I did I wouldn't be writting this story. All credit goes to the magnificent Suzanne Collins.**

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><p>I wake up with a knock at my door. It's Effie saying, "Up, up, up! It's going to be a big, big, big, day!" I open my eyes slowly adjusting to the light coming through the window. The first thought that comes to my mind is home. I miss my bed, taking care of my mother, and the kiss that dad gave me in the forehead in the mornings. It's just too unbearable, so I push those thoughts of my mind and think of something else.<p>

Today, we will be arriving at the Capitol and handed over to our stylists. Just thinking about today makes my head hurt. I'm not looking forward to it at all. God knows what they are going to do to us, but I get up anyway. Effie would just come knocking again if I didn't get up. I change into a pink t-shirt and pants and attach my pin to the shirt. The pin is the only thing I have from home now, so I must keep it safe.

When I enter the dining car I find Gale and Haymitch already seated. Haymitch's face is red and puffy, like he had no sleep and Gale looks annoyed, probably of being left alone with Haymitch. Effie waves for me to sit down and when I do I'm served a huge platter of food. No point in wasting such rich food so I dig in, but I notice that Haymitch is watching me. Feeling self-conscious I ask him, "What?"

"You remind me of someone, but I can't quite form it in my mind. What's your name again, sweetheart?" he asks sleepily.

"Madge Undersee," I say cautiously.

"Oh, yeah, the Mayor's kid," he says and leans back in his chair letting out a chuckle. "Who would have thought?"

I hate it when people refer to me as the Mayor's kid and now even more because it reminds me of dad. It makes me want to hurt him back so I say, "Maybe I remind you of my aunt. She was in your Games."

"Oh, yeah? What was her name?" he says not really paying attention and lifts his glass of wine to take a drink.

"Maysilee Donner," I tell him, narrowing my eyes to catch his reaction.

He freezes just as he's going to take a sip and then his eyes, as if by reflex, land on the pin on my shirt and I see recognition cross his face. _So he hasn't forgotten_, I think. Effie and Gale measure our exchange with curious eyes but say nothing of it. Gale looks at me questioning, but I just continue on eating ignoring everyone's eyes on me. I don't like attention and much more when it's something really personal such as aunt Maysilee.

When we are all done, Haymitch seems to have recovered enough so Gale speaks up. "So you're supposed to give us advice," he says with a serious yet still annoyed look on his face. It appears he dislikes and is repulsed by Haymitch as much as I am.

Haymitch makes a huffed sound and says, "Here's some advice. Stay alive," then he bursts out laughing, spilling wine all over. Our life depends on this drunken man and he's just sitting there laughing_. We're doomed_, I think.

Gale and I exchange glances and I see he's thinking the same as me. "You think that funny, don't you?" he say and gives me one last glance before he tackles Haymitch. I understand immediately and grab a knife from the table holding it only inches from Haymitch's throat. "Now let's talk. You're going to have to agree to put that bottle down and stay sober enough to help us, or we're going to stay here until you do," Gale tells him in a menacing voice. I knew Gale had character but it still kind of scares me and even more now that I'm seeing it.

Haymitch grunts and says, "Uh. Fine, just tell blondie to get the knife away."

Gale nods for me to remove it, so I stand up and put it on the table, while he releases him. "Well, well. Seems like I got a good pair this year," Haymitch says measuring us. "Not bad looking either. Okay, look I agree to your deal but in return you both have to do exactly what I say, without complaining."

Gale and I nod. Some help is better than none, even if it's from Haymitch. He walks over to the table grabbing his glass and takes a drink. We look at him with exasperated looks and when he sees our expressions he reminds us, "You said sober enough, not entirely sober kiddos. I'd rather be dead than sober."

"Whatever," I say ignoring the last part, "So, if you're going to help us, then what's going to be our strategy."

"First things first, girly," he says. I'm already getting sick of his nicknames. "When we arrive at the Capitol, you're going to go with your stylists. Now, no matter what it is they're going to do to you, don't resist. They know what they are doing."

"But, what if-" Gale starts, but Haymitch stops him.

"No, buts. You're not going to complain. Understand?" he asks looking at the two of us.

We both nod unwillingly and he takes the bottle and leaves. I don't have a problem with what Haymitch asked, but I can tell Gale does. "I can't be that bad," I reassure him seeing his desperate face.

"I wish," he says and then the train car goes dark.

_We must be in the tunnel leading into the Capitol_, I think. We stand there in silence a the train speeds on. I can almost hear Gale's breathing, low and steady. Then, light fills the compartment blinding us a little. The window shines bright inviting us to look out on the wondrous world just outside of it. I can tell Gale was resisting but his curiosity must have won over because he crosses over to the window. I do the same, even though I have already seen the Capitol but somehow it never fails to astonish me how magnificent the buildings and towers of the city are.

"It's something, isn't it," I say to Gale.

He shrugs, looking indifferent, but he can't fool me. I saw the look of amazement when the view appeared, but now he looks kind of disgusted by the people and just the whole thing. The people start pointing and yelling excitedly at the train, recognizing it. I step back from the light, not wanting to attract attention but also just as disgusted by them, and Gale does the same. The train comes to a stop arriving at the train station.

"Seems like they're excited to watch us die," Gale says.

"Seems like it," I respond back. It's kind of weird how our thoughts are always in the same wavelength, but I realize that it also means that the boy with the snares and I aren't so different after all.

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><p><strong>AN: So what you think? I can always use advice on how to improve my writing. I'm sorry if it was too similar to the book but I promise it will get better, just have faith in me and continue on reading.**

**So as I always say, REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys, so here is the next chapter. I hope you guys like how I'm protraying Gale and Madge. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, feedback is appreciated.**

**OH! And the movie was AMAZING! I saw it two times now... maybe I'll even go see it again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters, all credit goes to the amazing Suzanne Collins who gave me something to obsess about.**

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><p>Gale and I are directed to the Remake Center where they're going to do who-knows-what to us before we meet our stylists. It's very nerve raking being surrounded by all the Capitol people in their weird clothes and all I'm hoping is that I don't end up looking like them.<p>

"Remember what Haymitch said," I say to Gale when we're about to go off on our own way.

"I know. You too," he says, hesitant to be friendly which is not his strong suit.

"Yeah. I just thought I should remind you, because you know, you're sort of…" I say trailing off, not sure if I should finish my sentence.

"Sort of what?" he asks frowning at me.

"Oh, you know. The sort of I-don't-follow-the-rules kind of guy," I say with a small smile.

Surprisingly he smiles back and as he does it, it makes me wish I knew more about him. "I'll try," he tells me still smiling and goes off.

The next three hours are excruciating. I am scrubbed, washed, waxed and cleaned so many times; my skin feels like it's going to fall off. I feel really sore, vulnerable, but surprisingly not so much self-conscious. I have done what Haymitch said. Not one complaint has gotten out of my mouth. Venia, Flavius and Octavia are my prep team. They look the same as the rest of the people here in the Capitol, dressed in bright fabrics and with freaky hairstyles and makeup, but they're not bad people; they just talk a lot.

"You're doing great," Venia tells me.

After they're done, they go fetch my stylist who I heard them call Cinna. He will be in charge of dressing me for the opening ceremonies and the interview. I can't help be anxious about the costume he will tell me to wear to the Ceremonies. Every year, the tributes of District 12 end up last in the popularity group, coming from a district who manages coal.

The door opens and a young man steps through. Being a stylist you'd think his appearance to be more outrageous than the rest, but it's the contrary. He is dressed in a casual buttoned up black shirt and black pants. His brown hair is chopped short and the only makeup on his face is metallic gold eyeliner.

"Hello Madge. I'm Cinna, your stylists," he says in a quiet, calm voice, missing the accent of the Capitol.

"Hi," I say shyly.

"Give me one second, okay?" he says and circles me, taking in my appearance. He doesn't touch me, but takes everything in with his eyes and I'm glad he's respectful. I already like him.

"Okay, come one, let's you and I have a talk," he says and directs me to follow him.

I put on a robe and follow behind him. He directs me in to a sitting room and we sit down. He presses a button and our lunch appears on the table. I have seen this done before so it doesn't impress me, instead I think of what Gale thinks of all of this. He's probably disgusted by this too. How the people have food just by the touch of a button, barely making any effort to acquire it, whereas back home everyone has to work day and night just to have a small amount of food.

Cinna's voice pulls me back to reality. "So, Madge, about your costume for the opening ceremonies," he says, "You know it's the custom to reflect the occupation of your district, so it will have to do with coal. My partner Portia is the stylists for your fellow tribute Gale. She and I have come up with an idea."

I prepare myself, knowing it will be dreadful. Making a good impression on these Capitol people is essential for getting sponsors. There are certain things in the arena only they can send and to get their support you have to look like you have a chance which right now I don't.

"We decided to focus on the coal itself, rather than the coal mining. And what do we do with it? We burn it," he tells me. "Are you afraid of fire Madge?" he asks narrowing his eyes slightly.

I shake my head, without showing emotion, but in reality I'm screaming inside. It's one of my worst fears come alive; being burned alive. I don't have a choice now because Haymitch said not to resist and if this is what Cinna thinks is best, then so be it. I don't know why fire has always been a fear I've had since I was little. It's completely irrational but true.

Cinna dresses me in a simple black unitard that covers me from ankle to neck and puts on me leather boots that go up to my knees. The costumes most interesting character is the cape made of streams of orange, yellow and red that will be the one Cinna plans to light on fire, just before we roll into the streets in our chariot. The prep team didn't do much on my face, only some highlighting. My hair has been pulled back into a ponytail, leaving my face clear and visible.

Cinna and I go to meet with Gale, Portia and his crew. He is dressed identical to me and his face is clear and handsome. Everyone is excited to see the crowd's reaction when we come out. On the contrary I am freaking out about the flames. I'm putting on a brave face and hope no one notices. Cinna said the fire wasn't going to be real, just something him and Portia made, but this fact still doesn't reassure me.

We are escorted down to the Remake center where the chariots are at. Our chariot has coal black horses that will be pulling it all the way to the city circle and then to the training center. Cinna and Portia lead us to the Chariot to help us up and make adjustments to our capes and our body positions then head off to get the "fire."

"Are you okay? You look kind of green," Gale says to me frowning.

I realize my face has drained of color from fear, so I try to cover it. "Yeah," I say quietly, but my voice is shaking.

It doesn't fool him. He gives me another frown and says, "What's wrong?"

He crosses his arms waiting for an explanation and raises his eyebrows. I sigh giving up and decide to tell him. "I'm afraid of fire," I say looking away from him, not wanting to see his reaction, but it doesn't matter because I hear it. He's laughing. "What's so funny?" I ask, irritated.

"Why are you afraid of fire? It's just well… fire," he says still laughing.

"I don't know! I just am, okay?" I say frustrated that this causes him amusement, but it's nice hearing him laugh. It makes him a total different person; someone I wish I could get to know.

"Sure, sure," he says through chuckles.

"Stop laughing!" I say and smack his arm playfully, but I'm smiling now. I have to say I could get used to his laugh, even if it's for the little amount of time I have left.

Eventually he does calm down and Cinna comes with a lighted torch. Gale must have sensed my returning nerves because out of the corner of my eye I see him offering me his right hand, for confidence. I take it, just as Cinna says, "Ready?"

We nod and he lights our capes. My heart is giving loud thumps as I wait for the heat, but it doesn't come. I exhale in relief and Cinna says, "It worked." He seems relieved too. "Remember, heads high. Smiles. You're going to be unforgettable." He jumps down and the chariot starts moving into the street.

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><p><strong>AN: So what you think? It's sort of a cliffy, sorry. The romance will be coming soon, I promise. It just needs time to develop because we all know how Gale is. **

**Thank you readers and review! (Only takes a minute)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any characters used in this story.**

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><p>I clutch Gale's hand tighter once we see the crowd. They are admiring the chariots from one and two but once we come out their total attention is turned toward us and it's terrifying. Their first reaction when seen us though is alarm because of our flaming capes, probably thinking something went wrong with the costume, but it soon turns to admiration at Cinna's work. I hear his voice in my mind saying, <em>Heads high, Smiles. <em>I do as he said raising my chin high in the air with my most winning smile and wave at the crowd.

Everyone's eyes are on us and I realize Cinna was right; we're going to be unforgettable. Never before had the tributes of District 12 receive such an exclamation in the ceremonies as we are receiving today. They are all cheering our names and our district above all the others. I take a look at Gale and see he paralyzed like a statue. _Great_, think. I'm afraid of fire and apparently he has stage fright. I nudge him trying to bring him back to reality. He seems to get the message because he, unwillingly, puts on a stiff smile and waves. I see the light from the fire flickering on his face and can't help think how handsome he looks. I'm pretty certain he'll have sponsors lining up for him. Suddenly, I feel a flicker of hope that even if I don't make it, he will.

The chariots enter the city circle and pull right in front of the Presidents mansion. President Snow himself steps onto a balcony and says "Welcome tributes to the 74th Hunger Games!" He gives a speech thanking us for our "sacrifice" and courage. Then, the anthem plays and we are lead around the city circle once again to parade one last time. I have to say, the flames aren't as bad as I thought they were going to be.

We come into the Training Center and as soon as the chariot stops, Gale drops my hand and storms off. I'm left bewildered by his sudden anger, but I don't have time to ponder over it because Cinna and Portia come to help me down. Portia extinguishes my fire and heads off towards were Gale left.

"You were amazing," Cinna says with a genuine smile.

I return it easily but as I look around I see some of the other tributes throwing me nasty looks, especially those from one and two. I guess they don't like to share the spotlight but I really don't care.

"Come on, let me show you our quarters," he says.

We head up the elevator to the 12th floor where we will be until the Games and I realize it's alone. "Where's Effie and Haymitch?" I ask curiously.

"Hopefully signing you with some sponsors," Cinna says, "I'll leave you so you can change."

He shows me my room and leaves saying he'll see me at dinner. When I enter the room, I'm left breathless. It's very fancy and big. It has an amazing view of the Capitol and a huge closet I can program to my taste. There are so many gadgets, I feel the temptation to see what the function is of each but I go against it. I go to take a refreshing shower and change into more comfortable clothes. I pace around the room, trying to keep my mind to wonder about home, but right now I feel the extreme need to play my piano and it's too painful to think about.

Effie finally comes knocking calling me to dinner and when I enter I find everyone has already arrive, even Cinna and Portia. We are all in a pretty good mood with the splash Gale and I made. Haymitch is as sober as I've ever seen him, joining the adults in conversation. He is cleaned up pretty well too, Cinna probably had to force the suit into him, but he looks better than before. Gale and I sit in silence enjoying our food. I can't help feel uneasy about the way he stormed off earlier.

When we are all done we head to the sitting room and watch the recap of the ceremonies. The career tributes looked stunning as expected but once we come out all the shots and comments are mostly about us and the wonderful work Cinna and Portia did. At least, with this spectacle that we made we won't be ignored like all the years.

"You two better get some sleep. The adults have to talk," Haymitch says to me and Gale.

I get up and hug Cinna and Portia, thanking them for their wonderful work on the costumes. Gale and I head to our room, which coincidentally are right across from each other. He walks beside me but not close enough to wear we might bump into each other. I think about earlier when he stormed off and wonder if it was because he's angry with me or something else. Finally my curiosity gets the best of me so I ask, "Gale?"

"Umm," he says clearly lost in thought.

"Can I ask you something?" I say taking a peak at his face. He looks lost in his mind and I can't guess what he's thinking. He is just too difficult to read. We reach my door and I stop, waiting for his answer.

"What about?" he asks stopping in front of me, somewhat annoyed.

"Why were you upset when we came back from the ceremony?" I say and watch as his face turns from confusion to understanding.

"Oh, that," he says with a pause, "It's just that…" He stops mid-sentence and I can tell he's struggling to tell me, so I just give up on the subject. Clearly he doesn't trust me or isn't comfortable enough to tell me.

"Look, never mind," I say reaching for the knob, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He catches my arm and makes me turn to face him. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that I don't think this is the right place for a tirade," he says and I immediately understand. His face lights up, as if he has an idea and apparently he does because he says, "Let's go to the roof, some fresh air will do us good."

He leads me to a flight of stairs that go up and as soon as we step through the door I gasp at the view. All the Capitol buildings are sparking because of all the lights. There are still some people on the streets as well as cars, so different than home. Back there everyone is probably getting ready for bed, to wake up tomorrow for another day to hard work. Sometimes when I wake up early enough I see the miners passing going to the mines. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to live here. Never a shortage of food or light, but what is it that they do during the day? I have no clue.

"It's something isn't it?" Gale says quoting me from before on the train.

"You've been up here?" I ask.

"Yeah, Portia showed it to me earlier. She though it would help me clear my mind. And it does, well only a little bit. Mostly, it just makes me want to jump over," he says and goes to the railing.

I follow him saying, "And what prevents you from doing it?" I look up at him and see that he looks just as dazzling as he did in the Chariot.

"My family," he says with a gloomy expression, "And besides we can't. There's some kind of force field or something." He extends his arm in the air and then there's a zap that makes his arm jerk back. He looks down on me and says, "Sorry about before, at the Chariot. Somehow my anger always seems to come out on you."

"I assure you, I'm getting used to it," I say giving him a small smile.

He smiles too and we look out onto the streets, so different from the quiet roads of our district. A cold wind hits us and makes me shiver since I don't have a jacket. Gale notices and hesitantly puts and arm around my shoulder. I lean into his warmth and say "Thanks." He's really warm and doesn't seem to mind being this close to me. I feel comforted that he's gaining confidence around me.

"Madge?" he says.

"Yeah?" I say looking up at him.

"I'm going to help you tomorrow."

"Help me with what?" I say confused by the change of subject.

"In the training center, I'm going to help you find something you can use as a weapon so you won't be as defenseless," he explains.

I hadn't thought about training at all actually. I mean, I knew the training started tomorrow but I hadn't thought of acquiring any skills. "Come on, Gale. You and I both know I'm useless. You don't have to help me. I'll learn what I can and then…" I say trailing off not sure where I was headed.

"You're not useless. We just have to find something that you're good at," he says serious but then add jokingly, "Besides if we are going to be partners you have to be able to do something."

"Fine," I say agreeing but doubting we'll have any success.

Another wind hits us and even with Gale's warmth, my arms fill with goose bumps. Gale starts rubbing my arm but it's no use. "Come on, it's getting late and you're too sensitive for this wind," he says with a smile.

"For your information I've always been sensitive," I say.

We head inside and I'm grateful for the warmth and for the concern Gale seems to have for me. Even if we didn't really have a friendship before right now it feels like we've always been friends. It's risky though and we both know that. Only one of us can come out of the arena, but right now I just want to enjoy the moments we have together that we didn't have before. Weird that it took coming here, to the Capitol to become friends.

We reach my door and I say, "Well, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah," he says thoughtful, then to my surprise, he pulls me into a hug.

His arms are strong and warm around me, almost protective. Warmth spreads through me and I feel a jolt in my stomach. It feels natural but even though I don't want to, I pull away first. _Friends_, I think. I walk through my door and force myself to look back, just to see his face. He looks sort of smug, almost content. "Goodnight," I say.

"Goodnight Madge," he responds in a low voice and I close my door

There are too many feeling rushing up inside me right now, that I don't know what to think. _What are_ _you doing Madge?_ I ask myself because I really have no idea.

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><p><em>AN: So more Gale/Madge interaction and progress! I am really happy with all your comments and I hope I am doing a good job on portraying these characters. Any feedback is appreciated as always, so please review._


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters used in this story...but I wish I did. Don't we all.**

I wake up early in the morning. The sun is barely rising over the city. I decide to take a shower since I'm already up. When I'm done, I change and go to sit on the bed to wait for Effie's call. I'm trying really hard not to think of home so I think about today. It's training day. We will have three training days for us to get ready and acquire some skills that will be useful during the Games. It's also important because it will help us for the sessions with the Game makers. The session is for us to show them our strong points and they will give us a score which can determine the amount of sponsors we collect. I think about what I told Gale yesterday, about me being useless and know that it's true. I have no skills other than playing the piano. But I will try. I really am, for the promise I made…

My thoughts are interrupted by the knock at the door, well several knocks. "Wake up Madge. Today's going to be a big, big, big day!"

_It sure is_, I think. "I'm going," I yell back, but smile to myself. I'm starting to be fond of Effie somehow; it's kind of weird how her perky character lifts my spirits. I shake my head to clear my thoughts as I put on some slippers and head to the dining room.

When I enter I find the room empty, except for Effie and the attendants. I sit down and I'm immediately served a huge platter of eggs, bacon, sausages and many other delicates. We are being stuffed with food like cows before slaughter.

"I'm going to go wake up Gale," Effie tells me, "And see if Haymitch will be so kind to please us with his presence." She walks out leaving me to eat. I'm grateful that at least she is making an effort to help us unlike Haymitch, who we have rarely see and who hasn't told us anything useful at all so far.

I decide not to eat too much since I'm going to be training and really hard. I take only tiny bits of everything and wait for the others to arrive. After a few minutes Gale comes in. He's wearing a normal V-neck t-shirt and gray pants. Now that I notice, his appearance has changed a lot from when we were home. His face is much clearer and his black hair looks glossy and smooth. Of course even back home he was handsome no matter what he looked like.

"Good morning," he tells me with a smile. Well, he's in a good mood today.

"Morning," I say, "Where's everyone else?" I noticed neither Effie nor Haymitch had come behind him.

"Oh, Effie went looking for Haymitch. She told me to come and eat," he says unconcerned by the situation and sits down.

He sees me frowning and asks, "What?"

"We need Haymitch," I say, "I know you don't like him and believe me neither do I, but once inside the arena he's the only one that will be able to send us help."

"I know. Still, I wish we had someone better that that drunken dick," he says smiling. I try to keep a straight face but fail, giving a small chuckle.

"Do you mind if I ask you something about Haymitch?" he says, his face turning serious all of a sudden.

"What about?" I ask. I barely even met Haymitch, much less know about him. Mom doesn't like to talk about aunt Maysilee so she never says anything about him either; although I have the feeling she appreciates him for helping her in the arena.

"Well, I was thinking back when we were in the train and he said you reminded him of someone. When you said your aunts name, he sort of froze and I was wondering why?" he says, his eyes fixed intently on me.

"Oh," I say, because really what can I tell him? Or can I even tell him? Can I tell him how they were allies in the Quell but she ended up dying and Haymitch coming home? I mean, it's the truth but it hurts to talk about it with anyone, even my parents. I could tell Haymitch didn't like to talk about it either because of his reaction, and it's perfectly understandable. I could see the pain it still caused him by the haunted look in his eyes.

Gale is waiting for my response and I'm trying to think of a way to tell him, when Effie comes in followed by a hung-over Haymitch.

"Well, isn't this nice. Since we are all here let's eat and then you can talk strategy," Effie tells us and they sit down.

We fill up our bellies until we are all satisfied, even Haymitch. He seems a little distracted but he's as sober as I've ever seen him. When he is done, he pushed his plate away and says, "Okay, so today is training. First I want to ask or mostly have to ask, if you want to be coached separately."

Gale and I exchange glances and he says, "Together is fine. Besides, we've decided to be allies."

"Well isn't that nice," Haymitch says in a sarcastic voice. We just stared at him with annoyed looks so he goes on. "Okay, now what skills do you have that could help you in the arena?" he says and grabs a glass of wine taking a small drink.

_So much for being sober_, I think. I look at Gale and nod for him to begin, since I have nothing to say on this subject. He frowns at me but says, "I can use a bow and arrow and set up snares."

"Good. The snares will be useful for catching food and the bow… well I can't guarantee there will be some in the arena. We can only hope. What about you blondie?" he says looking at me. His stupid nicknames are really frustrating me.

"I can't do anything other than playing the piano, sorry. You might as well give up on me if you want," I say not really caring if he insults me about it.

Gale starts to say something but Haymitch cuts him off. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm not going to do that and you better loose that I give-up attitude. You've already made me reduce my drinking so that comes with a price. I'm going to do my job right, and one of you will be coming out of the arena," he says with a serious face. "I owe it to Maysilee to at least try to get you out," he continues but looks away as he says this, wanting to hide his face from us.

"I told Madge we should find a weapon she's able to handle in training, that way she won't be as defenseless in case there's a need," Gale tells Haymitch, who turns back at him and his eyes flicker to me for a moment before looking back at him.

"Okay. Just make sure not to show how good your skills are," he says, "Oh and you should stick together in training." He has on a serious face so we both nod. "Now, head back to you rooms. Training is at ten."

We get up and as we are heading out Haymitch catches my arm, "No giving up okay?"

I look into his eyes and actually see concern in them. "Okay," I say and he releases me.

Gale and I go in silence to our rooms. I don't know what he makes of what Haymitch told me. He seems like he has something on his mind, but he doesn't voice his thoughts. Just as we get to our rooms he speaks up. "Haymitch is right, you know."

"Yeah, I know," I sigh and enter my room without looking back at him.

* * *

><p>When I enter my room, I see an outfit laid out on my bed. Cinna must have sent it for me to wear to training. It's a long sleeved tunic, tight black pants and leather shoes. It's not really my taste, but I put it on and pull my hair back into a ponytail. When it's almost ten, Effie comes to get Gale and me. She leads us to the elevator that goes below ground level where the training rooms are at. It stops and as the doors open, we enter a huge gymnasium filled with weapons and obstacle courses.<p>

When everyone arrives, Gale and I join the circle of tributes where the head trainer, Atala, explains the schedule and reads the list of stations. There are many stations with weapons, but there are also some earlier ones such as camouflage and knot-tying. I look around and for the first time, I really examine what kind of competition we are going to face. My heart sinks as I see the careers. All of them are almost twice as big as me. The boy from two catches me staring and I look away fast because I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks. My best chance is outlasting everyone else.

When Atala finishes everyone spreads and head into different directions. Gale turns to me and asks, "Where do you want to start?"

I look around and se the Careers have gone directly to the most dangerous and vicious looking weapons. Better avoid them, so I say, "Let's start easy and then we'll go try out some weapons."

He nods and we decide to go to the plants station first. For the rest of the day, we go from station to station making a great effort to learn something useful. The more skills we learn, the better.

On the second day of training, we mostly practice with weapons. My ability with a sword is really awful, but Gale isn't so bad with it. We head towards the knives and spears deciding the sword won't work for me. I'm pretty decent throwing knives, not as good as the girl form District 2 but still pretty good. I can throw the spear from a couple of feet but not for very long distances. I want to head over to the archery section, but Gale can't go with me because of Haymitch's orders not to show our best skills. I suggest we split up for just this once but he's doubtful.

"Are you sure?" he says and when I nod he says, "Okay. I'll be at the knot-tying station."

I noticed he particularly liked that station. Maybe it's because he's a wiz with snares as far as I've noticed. We part ways and I'm relieved to see none of the other tributes are here. The instructor shows me the basics first. He shows me how to hold the bow and how to load an arrow. I've always been curious to try because of the great ability Katniss had with it but I know it takes years of experience to get as good as she is. In my first attempt to hit the dummy I fail and send the arrow flying towards the right, but after a few tries I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I load another and surprisingly the arrow lands right of the forehead. Lucky shot, I think.

"Nice," I hear someone say behind me.

I turn and see the boy from District 2 towering over me. He has blond hair and blue eyes and through his shirt I notice his toned muscles. "Thanks," I say shyly and turn back.

"I'm Cato, District 2," he says walking to stand inform of me, somehow demanding my attention.

_What's up with him? _I think, but instead I say, "I'm Madge, District 12."

"Yeah, I know," he says, "You made quite an impact on the opening ceremonies." There's no jealousy in his voice but there's something there I can't quite get.

"Well, it was mostly due to our stylists," I say indifferently. I'm feeling a little uncomfortable by him and I have a feeling he wouldn't be someone I would like to have as an enemy.

"Yeah, but I bet that had sponsors lined up for you," he says, his eyes lighting up at the word sponsors and things click silently into place. "So I, well we, were thinking that it would benefit us to have you on our team," he continues.

I am taken aback by his words. Is he suggesting for me to join them? The Careers? I'm not quite sure I heard right. "Why?" I ask incredulous.

"Well, because of what I told you. You have sponsors, we have strength. Plus, you also made quite an impression on me," he says with a vicious smile and touches my check with his hand.

I flinch back suddenly revolted by him. "Don't touch me," I say in a strong voice.

"Oh, and with a character too," he says, "I like that." He reaches for my arm now and grasps it, clearly provoking me.

I jerk my arm away. "I said don't touch me," I say in an angry voice now. _Who does he think he is?_

"Didn't you hear her? She said not to touch her," says a voice behind me and I exhale in relief.

"Just talking man," Cato responds bringing his arms up as in defeat.

"Well, it didn't look that way," Gale says, his face set in hard mask.

"This is none of your business anyway dude," Cato shoots back and then turns to me, "So about the offer?"

"No, thanks," I say acidly. I don't want anything to do with him even if it means losing the Games. There are other ways of winning.

"Suit yourself," he says and as he walks away he turns to Gale, "You better watch out twelve, I'm going to be coming for you." He gives him another menacing smile then heads toward the swords station.

"Stupid dick," Gale says under his breath and turns to me, "You okay?"

"Yeah and thanks for saving me there," I say to him. "Sorry I made him angry, now he's going to be coming for you."

To my surprise Gale laughs. "It's cool. I'm going to enjoy killing that douchebag. He has to learn to respect other people," he says with a tight smile.

I shudder at his words. "Will it really be that easy for you?" I ask not trying to be rude but honestly curious.

"No, only him. The others…" he says and looks around the room, "Well, I don't know."

I nod understanding. I don't think I'm capable of killing anyone here. I just don't have neither the strength nor the will to do it. I look around the room and my eyes linger in the camouflage station where the little girl from eleven is at. "Hey, Gale," I say.

"Yeah?" he says looking at me although I'm still looking at the girl from eleven.

"I was thinking. I mean I know it's stupid, but…" I stop not knowing how to phrase the words.

He sees and follows my eyes that are on the little girl. "You want her as an ally don't you?" he asks with a small frown.

I nod saying, "I know it's crazy but I feel kind of protective of her. Haymitch would kills us though." I imagine his reaction when we tell him we decided to ally with a twelve year old girl from District 11.

"He might kill us, but we are already headed towards the arena, besides I don't think it's crazy. I've been thinking about it myself,'' he says as we gaze at her.

She looks so small and innocent, how could we not. "So, you're okay with it?" I ask looking at Gale with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, I am," he says returning my smile, "Who cares what Haymitch says? It's our decision who we want as allies."

"So, should we go talk to her?" I ask looking back at her.

"I think we should. Come on," he says and we head over to the station.

When we get there it's just her and the instructor. She is painting a pattern of leaves and twigs on her arm, and it's so good her arm almost disappears behind the pattern. "That's cool," I say approaching her.

She looks up pausing in her design noticing us and says, "Thanks, I try." She seems a little nervous but continues on painting.

"I'm Madge by the way, District twelve and this is my district partner Gale," I say nodding to him and he gives her a nod. "What's your name?"

"Rue, District 11," she says with a small smile.

"Well, Rue, we were thinking that we need someone like you in our team," I say in a sweet voice, not wanting to intimidate her.

"You do?" she asks in a surprising voice yet excited too. Her eyes widen big and shiny, I can't help but smile at her.

"Yes," I say and nudge Gale to say something. He's letting me do all the talking.

"Absolutely," he says with a genuine smile, different from the others I've seen.

"So what do you say Rue? Want to be allies?" I say offering her my hand.

Her eyes flicker from me to Gale and back again, but then she smiles and takes my hand and says, "Allies."

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><p><em>AN: Here is the next chapter guys. Hope you liked it, I think it's the longest one so far. It had some creepy Cato and sweet Rue; I couldn't leave_ _her out of course. I think it was very important for her to be allies with them and you'll see how it plays out later in the arena scenes. I'm so excited to start writing them because I have tons of ideas for it and for the romance. Also, please let me know if there are any typos you found, thank you._

_Thanks to the readers and for your comments! REVIEW!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of the characters used in this story... **

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><p>On the third day of training they start calling people in for their sessions with the Gamemakers. Gale, Rue and I sit on a table in the dining area without speaking. We are all too nervous to speak. The score we get can determine how many sponsors we have, which also determines how long we last in the arena. I'm sure Cato thought I had sponsors already, because of the opening ceremonies, but I'm not so sure anymore.<p>

The tributes go one by one and they don't return back into the gym. At some time, I don't know when, it's just the three of us left in the room. The only sound around us was our own breath, slow and steady. Then, they are calling Rue's name and as she stands up I say, "Good luck."

"Thanks, and to both of you too," she says in a slightly trembling voice and leaves out the door.

Gale and I sit across from each other, quiet. I'm thinking about Rue going in there and hoping she does well but I'm also worrying about what I'm going to do because right now I have no idea. I should have thought of this earlier but no, of course not. Stupid me thinking I would have an idea by now.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" I say to Gale, breaking the silence hanging between us.

"I was thinking about doing snares or maybe some shots with the bow," he says thoughtful. Well, at least he has a choice, whereas I don't have any. "What about you?"

"I have no idea," I say miserably and drop my face to my hands wanting to conceal my face from him.

"Well, how about some knife throwing? You've gotten pretty good at that," he says

I look up to see if he means it or not. His face seems sincere enough but I still ask, "You think?"

"Yeah," he says and just then a man steps through the door and calls for Gale.

As he gets up to leave he nods to me one last time, and even though he doesn't say, I know he's wishing me luck. I nod back and he leaves through the door leaving me alone with my miserable thoughts. I wait for about twenty minutes before I'm called. My feet are trembling when I get up and my heart is rising when I enter the gymnasium. I head directly towards the knives station and grab three that I've practiced with before. I know exactly what amount of distance I can launch one without missing so that doesn't make me feel so hopeless.

I set back for about fifteen feet from the dummy, get a good grip on the handle and launch it across the room. It hits the dummy in the chest. I exhale in relief and step back until I'm twenty feet away and send the second knife flying with accuracy towards a point. It lands directly over where the heart would be. I smile to myself, content with my work, and look for the first time towards the Gamemakers.

A few of them are nodding in approval but most of them are gathered around the banquet table, admiring the buffet. I stare at them with disgust. They don't really care for them the Games are just a show where they get to invent new ideas on how to kills us. I build up my anger and release it with the last knife that land directly on the forehead of the dummy. I look back at the Gamemakers and one of the few who were paying attention to me stands up and says, "Thank you, Miss Undersee. You are dismissed."

I stomp my way out the gym and head up to our floor. As I submerge from the elevator I hear my name being called from the sitting room. I decide to go ahead and tell them how it went, to get it over with. Haymitch will be mad either way. I enter the room and find Cinna, Haymitch and Gale sitting on the couch. Haymitch is the first to speak. "So, how'd it go?"

I shrug indifferently. Haymitch seems irritated by this response because scowls. "What? What's this?" he says imitating my shrug.

Maybe it's his imitation or the irritation I still feel towards the Gamemakers that makes my response come out angry. "I don't know Haymitch. I tried, okay. When I went in there all they were paying attention to was the buffet not me, so I can't really say if this," I say shrugging, "Is a good or a bad thing!"

Cinna and Gale stare at me with wide eyes but Haymitch just frowns, not really affected by my yelling. For some reason I don't want Cinna to see me like this, or to think I lose my temper this easily, because I don't. "Look can I just go to my room and talk about it later? I don't want my anger to come out at anyone," I say to Haymitch.

"Fine, go. But we're going to talk about it later," he says and I stomp my way out of the room.

* * *

><p>I take my time to calm down, taking a shower and changing. All my anger has mostly left when Effie comes to summon me for dinner. Everyone is there, even the stylists once again. It makes me feel better that they are here; Haymitch is less irritating around them. Cinna sees me and comes to give me a hug. "You feeling better?" he asks with a small smile. I nod and feel grateful for his concern.<p>

The adults make small talk while we eat but as soon as Gale and I finish, Haymitch starts to question us once again. "So what is it exactly that you decided to do?" he says directing his word to the both of us.

"I just did some snare, but it's like Madge said no one was really paying attention anymore, so I don't see that it even matters," Gale says serious.

"What about you princess?" Haymitch says tuning to me.

Can he really come up with more nicknames? "I threw some knifes," I say not elaborating because there really isn't anymore to tell.

"And? Did you do good or bad?" he says impatient with me.

"Well, I didn't miss the dummy," I respond.

Haymitch gives a sigh as if exhausted for us and leans back in his chair. Guilt builds up inside me as I see how much of a strain we are to him and even more when we are not cooperating. I notice he has dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and wonder if feels okay. He probably doesn't sleep from nightmares. I know I wouldn't if I saw what he saw in the Games.

"She was doing pretty well in training," Gale says after a moment.

I smile at him gratefully while Haymitch looks back and forth between us. I find myselt wondering if he thinks there's something between us. I don't even know what is between us. Gale is a very complicated person and doesn't show too much of himself, of who he is. I guess I could consider him my friend now, because of all the help he has given me but nothing further than that. We've never even shared anything personal even though we were both friends with Katniss.

"Well, let's go see how bad the Gamemakers thought you were," Haymitch says standing up with a glass of wine and heads towards the sitting room.

I sigh and as we go to follow him, Cinna comes to my side. He gives my shoulders a squeeze and says, "Don't let him get to you."

I nod to him, hoping I can remember this for late. We go in and sit down to wait for the training scores. We are all nervous. It's no surprise that the career's all earn scores from eight to ten. Everyone else scores lower than that, except for the boy from District 11 who Rue told me is Thresh. He earns a nine and I cross my fingers when Rue's face appears in the screen. A seven appears on the screen and my face lights up with hope. Gale's face comes up and a number nine flashes on the screen. Everyone is clapping and congratulating him and when he turns to me I smile at him. His ability with the snares must be really good due to the fact that he's spent years in the woods making them to catch food. Finally, my own face comes up and a number seven appears beneath my image. I exhale in relief; at least it's not mediocre.

"Well, you didn't do as bad as I thought you were going to," Haymitch says, "I'll figure something out for the interviews to get more sponsors."

He grabs the whole bottle of wine and leaves the room. Hopefully he's recovered enough tomorrow to help us. Even though I don't really like him I feel more respectful to him for the help he gave aunt Maysilee in the arena. I look worriedly as he leaves the room and Portia notices. "Don't worry about him Madge. We'll make sure he can get up tomorrow," she tells me with a smile.

"He better, he's the only one that can sing agreements with sponsors, but don't worry I already convinced some people," Effie says and I smile gratefully at her.

Cinna and Portia congratulate us and head off, probably to work on our clothes for the interview in just two days. Effie bids us goodnight and tells us not to stay up to late since tomorrow she and Haymitch will be instructing us for the interviews. I don't want to go to sleep. I really don't, because every day we do we are closer to the Games.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" Gale asks when I make no move to get up from the couch.

"I'm not sleepy," I say easily lying.

"Of course not," he says rolling his eyes at me showing I wasn't very convincing.

"What about you?" I ask.

"My head keeps running and I can't stop thinking of home," he says honestly and I see a pained look coming to his face.

"They are going to be really proud of you, you know," I say softly knowing it was the truth. No one has ever scored that high from our district, he probably set a record.

"I don't see that it makes a difference," he says with a frown.

"You know, sometimes talking about it helps," I say offering my confidence.

"Sometimes, but not always," he says shutting me out. "See you in the morning."

"See you," I say as he gets up and leaves.

I thought that perhaps since the day in the roof we'd gotten closer or at least that we could have a normal conversation but apparently not anymore. He has shut me out once again and somehow this small action pains me in a great way. Maybe it's for the best, I think. Once in the arena there's no room for friends or feelings. I wouldn't want for it to come down to me and him. That would be the worst possible scenario for me. I wouldn't be able to bare it. Sometimes the worst pain is the one we don't even understand.

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><p><em>AN: Sorry it tooks so long to upload this chapter. I've been to caught up in school stuff... and okay I was lazy. I've decided to post one chapter each friday until the end of the story so that I don't keep you guys waiting, so be aware. Hope you are enjoying it so far, next chapter is preparation for interviews and the interviews themselves._

_Comments are appreciated, thanks._


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of the characters... blah blah blah. Enjoy.**

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><p>"Do you have any smaller ones?" I say to Effie as I see the heels she's about to put me in. They must be at least eight inches.<p>

"No! Now, come on, you just need practice" she says handing the shoes to me.

All morning long she's been instructing me on manners and other things. I thought it would be simple since dad had me taught how to be a lady, but Effie is being even stricter about this. She teaching me as if it's the first time I have to act politely. I tried telling her I didn't need much to work on, but she insisted. She taught me how to sit, talk politely, smile and now this; learning how to walk in eight inch heels. It's excruciating, but I'm determined that's for sure. I'll do anything to charm the audience tomorrow. Hopefully I won't embarrass myself or anything worse. I need to be as unforgettable as I was in the opening ceremonies.

I work with the heels until the last minute to perfect my walk and I'm finally relieved when we go to eat lunch. Haymitch had taken Gale to work on how to present ourselves personality wise. When we arrive they are already eating without us. I know Gale doesn't particularly like Haymitch but they seem at ease when we enter. I eat everything they serve me without worry. My nerves usually show up at the last moment but I don't want to be concerned about that right now.

When we are done Haymitch and I go into the sitting room. He sits down on an armchair and gestures for me to sit across from me. "Okay, sweetheart, I've been thinking that the best way to present you as this sweet, innocent girt from District 12. Do you think you're up for that?" he asks and I'm surprised how courteous he is being.

"I think so," I respond. Sweet and innocent is just what I am. I have to admit I had been a little worried about what Haymitch would say about my presentation but all I feel right now is relief and if this is what he thinks is best, who am I to disagree? He's the one with the experience.

"Okay, so let's practice. I'm going to be asking you a couple of sample question and you answer them as sweetly as possible. It shouldn't be much of a problem for you and gush if there's an opportunity," he says gentle again.

We practice this technique for the next hours and I seem to be doing a good job because not one insult has come from Haymitch. He asks me of home, my daily activities and other possible questions that may come up. I answer each one as honestly as I can and gush whenever I can.

"Good. Great job, girly. You'll have those Capitol idiots lined up to sponsor you as soon as those interviews end," he says and takes a small drink from a glass of wine.

"Haymitch, what if they ask about my dad? You know, since he's the mayor and all," I say. I hadn't thought about it much but it was in the back of my mind. There's also something else I want to ask but I'm afraid how Haymitch will react.

"Well, we can work with that to our advantage. If the question does come up, just say that it's your honor being here to represent the District and make your dad proud," he tells me after a moment of thought.

"Okay," I say. There's that other question that is bothering me so I decide to just go ahead and say it, "What if they ask about aunt Maysilee," I say cautious looking directly at him.

His face grimaced, his lips compressed and when I look into his eyes they seemed vacant. "That may be a problem," he says in a painful voice that instantly makes me feel guilty for asking.

"Never mind, I don't think it's possible they'll ask anything about her," I say looking away.

From the corner of my eye I see Haymitch watching me. "You remind me of her you know," he says taking another drink.

"I know… but I'm not her Haymitch," I say slowly looking back at him. I remind everyone of her; most of all to my mother. Sometimes I can't even see go into her room to see her because she's starts crying and calling me by my aunts name.

"You're right," he says taking a huge gulp out of the glass, "You're not her."

We stop discussing that subject right then and by the time we are done its dinner. I'm feeling a little down but confident about tomorrow. I've actually begun to believe I have a chance at winning, or at least making it far into the Games. Although I want to make it far, I know I don't have the wits to fight anyone. Cato promised he was going to come for Gale and that threat has me on edge. We'll have to ge4t away from him as soon as the gong sounds in the arena. Gale, Rue and I agreed to this when we were in training but how am I supposed to cooperate with Gale when he won't even talk to me. Instead of making progress, we've gone back to the way we were before at home. It's just that Gale puts up this wall that prevents others from getting close to him. What I have to do is get the right tool to break it down, but first I need to find out what the right tool is.

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><p>When I open my eyes I find myself face to face with my prep team. <em>Great<em>, I think. They work on me all day long until the afternoon. They bathe me first, wax some parts of me off and moisturize all my body. When that's all done my skin is rosy pink and smooth; it's almost glowing. Then they move to my hair, adding all these products that leave it shinny. They gather it all on the back of my head in a ponytail but they make ringlets of all the strands of hair. Then they add little clips of red flowers around it. My face is glowing too, by all the creams they put on me. They add pale makeup to my face and to bring out my blue eyes they give me big eyelashes and smoky eye shadow and the finishing touch, a glossy coral shade for my lips.

When they are all done, Cinna comes in with the dress in a big garment bag. He orders me to close my eyes as they put the dress over me and strap me into the heels, which I was relieved to find much smaller than the ones Effie taught me in. Cinna grabs my arm and directs me over to what I guess is I mirror and finally allows me to open my eyes. When I do, the first thing I do is gasp taking in my appearance. My dress made of red, orange, and yellow gems makes it appear as if I was on fire. Only Cinna could make something so spectacular like this.

"It's beautiful Cinna," I say hugging him.

"I'm glad you like it," he says returning the hug. "Are you ready?"

I wish I could reassure him and myself but I can't do it. I shake my head silently at him. He's one of the few I've learned to trust and confide in since we got here to the Capitol. I didn't think I could find someone like him in a place like this, full of selfishness and cruelness.

"It's okay," he says squeezing my hand, "No one ever is."

To keep my mind busy, Cinna has me walk around the dress to get the hang of it. It helps a bit but when they call us to go, the nerves come rushing back up. "What if they don't like me Cinna? What if I make a fool of myself? What if-"

"They are going to love you," he says stopping me, "Just breathe. All you need to do is be yourself and everything else will flow naturally. Okay?"

I nod, unable to speak now. I know I have to get a grip or I'm going to be a mess. I try breathing in slowly and deeply as Cinna and I make our way to the elevator where we meet with the rest of the team. The first thing I notice is how handsome Gale looks. His face is smooth and clear and his hair has been combed back with gel. He's wearing a black suit that has flame designs on the sleeves and the bottom of his pants. Effie and Haymitch are also dressed up and look sticking too. I bet Portia had to struggle with Haymitch to get him into the black suit he's wearing and he clearly looks uncomfortable but doesn't complain.

We go down towards the stage that was built in front of the Training Center. When we get there we are immediately taken to line up to take the stage behind the other tributes. Everyone looks really good, some even better now than in the opening ceremonies.

"You ready?" I ask Gale in a whisper. It's the first time I've talked to him since two days ago so I don't know if he will just ignore me, but he doesn't.

"No," he says quietly, "You?"

"Definitely not," I say my voice shaking a little.

He notices and reaches down to give my hand a squeeze of reassurance. I squeeze back gratefully and then release it. I'm kind of mad at him but I don't know for what yet, since there's a lot of reasons, but I'm happy we're talking again.

After what seems a much too short amount of time it's time to walk toward the stage to take our seats where we will be watching the interviews. By the time I step on the stage my heart is beating so fast I fear it might fall off my chest. I try to relax but as soon as I see the audience, my fright comes right back up. We all sit down in an arc and Ceasar Flickerman, the interviewer, walks on stage and tells some jokes. From the interviews I've seen Ceasar give I have come to like him but he looks a little intimidating right now in person.

After he's done warming up the audience, he begins with the girl from District one. It's always this way, first the girl and then the boy. This girl had already stood out in my mind and now that's she's all dressed up she's even prettier. There is no doubt guys are going to be drooling for her. As the interviews continue I pay less attention because I'm trying to calm myself down again. Sweet and innocent, I think. Hopefully something will help me stand out of everyone else.

I turn my attention back on the stage when it's Rue's turn. The dress she is wearing makes her looks so innocents and small and like a bird about to take flight. She is really confident and doesn't seem nervous at all. Ceasar is very sweet with her and as I noticed he helps her out playing the audience to his command. His final question to her is, "So, Rue. What advantage do you think you have over the others?"

"I don't know if it's really an advantage but I have speed. Sure, I may be small but I can run like the wind, so don't count me out just yet. I'm going to try my best to survive," she says in a small voice.

The buzzer goes off for her and Ceasar says, "We'll that's our time, we all wish you the best of luck Rue."

She flutter's her way back to her seat and next is Thresh. He is massive and indifferent when answering his questions with small, quick answers. I bet he's already got a good amount of sponsors lined up. Rue didn't talk about him in training but I have a feeling she's rooting for him too. Although he's huge, he doesn't seem hostile or a bad person.

Then, the dreading moment comes and they are calling my name. I stand up and force my feet to move towards the center of the stage. I shake Ceasar's hand gently with a smile. You can do this, I tell myself.

"So, Madge, I hear you're the Mayor's daughter! Wow, how do you feel about being here?" Ceasar asks politely.

_Seriously_, I think. Just the question I didn't want to hear. Instead I say, "Well, Ceasar, I think I had as much chance as anyone of coming here. I'll make my dad proud by being here to represent the district and hopefully win."

"Indeed," he says, "I bet you'll make him, proud, am I right?" he says directing his last words to the audience and they shout in agreement. "So, have you already come to the Capitol?"

"Oh, yes. Only two times but everything here is magnificent," I say gushing, "The food is so rich and delicious, the buildings so beautiful and the people very polite. I can't say there's anything here I don't like."

"That is very generous of you. Now, let's talk about your costume for the ceremonies. I was stunned when you came out, what did you think of it?" Ceasar asks.

"I thought it was the most amazing and breathtaking piece of clothing I've ever worn," I say and find Cinna in the audience. "And I thought that Cinna is very talented and I'm happy I got to meet him."

"I think we all agree that Cinna is a genius," Ceasar says and the audience applauds to him and he stands to give a vow. "Now, about training, how do you feel about your seven?"

"I feel pretty good about it," I say honestly, "I showed what I had to offer and it seems it was satisfiable. All I have to offer is my greatest effort and hope for the best."

That is by far the most honest thing I've said and the part about Cinna. I can't feel awful about lying, but if this is what I have to do to win people over, so be it. I just don't want to become this person who lies to get what she wants, which is what most people would misjudge or infer about the Mayor's daughter.

"Of course," he says and the buzzer goes off to my relief. "Well, I'm sure everyone here wishes you the best of luck, Madge Undersee, District 12."

"Thank you," I say as I rise and the crowd roars in applauds.

I get back to my seat and Gale goes up for his interview. I try and calm myself and pay attention. Haymitch didn't tell me what angle Gale was going for, not that I wanted to know, but as he answers his questions I can tell he's going for mysterious. He doesn't let on anything too personal but he's not rude either. Many of the women in the crowd are looking at him and giving deep sighs. At least his good looks are something that will help him get people in his favor, that's for sure. He's going to be the newest heartthrob.

I'm not at all surprised when Ceasar asks about girls in his life. "So, Gale, I bet everyone here would like to know if there's someone special out there that has captured your heart, or if they can still hope," he says with his blue eyebrows raised.

"No, but you know, life's full of surprises," he says easily. I have to say he has a good way to get around the questions without giving a direct answer.

"Come on, I bet someone's caught your eye," Ceasar says in a persuasive way.

"Well, yes… but the whole situation is too unfortunate," he say keeping the audience linked to his every word.

"And why is that?" Ceasar asks curiously leaning forward in his chair.

"Because, even though Madge is one of the most beautiful girls I've seen, there will never be a chance for that to happen," he says in a low nervous voice.

Oh God, was my first thought. He caught everyone off guard that it takes a few seconds for it to settle in and when it does everyone is murmuring with each other. Gale and Ceasar look at me to see my reaction but once I see the pained look on Gale's face I realize what this is. I put on a shocked face, and to fake embarrassment I look away.

"Well, I see what you mean. It's a very unfortunate situation," Ceasar says and he truly sounds genuine.

"Yeah, it is," Gale responds in a low voice.

I try to keep my face hidden so they don't see how I truly feel; angry and disgusted. Seriously, what is he thinking? Everyone else may buy it but I don't. Gale and I don't even know each other that well and when I've tried to get to know him, he pushes me away. So know I'm supposed to believe he likes me? I just refuse to believe it. Besides, I always thought there was something with him and Katniss. Not that she ever told me, I just assumed by all the time they spent together. It wouldn't be unusual if it did.

I snap back to reality as Gale's buzzer rings. Ceasar and he shake hands and Ceasar tells him, "I know everyone here wishes the best of luck to you and Ms. Undersee. Ladies and gentlemen, Gale Hawthorne, District 12!"

The crowd gets on their feet to applaud as Gale makes his way back to his seat next to me. I don't want to look at him or at the crowd so I look above at everything except them as the anthem plays. I'm pretty sure it's just a strategy of his or maybe something Haymitch came up with. Then, I remember his words from two days ago; _I'll figure something out for the interviews to get you more sponsors._ Yes, I'm pretty sure Haymitch had everything to do with this.

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><p><em>AN: Ok, so who saw that coming? Lol. Here is a new chapter guys, as promised. Next one will be the start of the Games. I'm really excited about it. Thanks to the readers and for your comments, they are appreciated. _


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything and you know the rest. Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>All of us are directed back to the lobby and head up to our rooms in the elevators. Unfortunately, I end up alone in an elevator with Gale. I decide just to go ahead and get it over with saying, "It was all just a strategy between you and Haymitch wasn't it?"<p>

"Yes," he says in a low voice avoiding looking at me. Maybe he's expecting me to burst out yelling or something but I don't.

"I knew it," I say more to myself than him.

"Of course," he says rolling his eyes, "Because a girl like you would never be caught with someone like me."

"I didn't say that," I say defensively. We've arrived at our floor and as we step out I turn frowning at him.

"Maybe not, but it's logical. You're the Mayor's daughter and I'm just a boy from the Seam. No one in their right mind would ever think you and I could be together, only these idiots from the Capitol," he says challenging me to deny it.

I'm too shocked and angry to say anything and then I have not time to dwell over it because the rest of the crew arrives. They notice our glares at each other and Haymitch speaks up, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that I wasn't consulted in all of this Haymitch," I say spatting all the words now. I realize now how furious this really makes me. The fact that Gale made me his object of "love", that Haymitch had been so freaking nice when practicing for the interview, when it all played out for his bigger plan for me and that I can't do anything about it now. I'm not an angry person like Gale but sometimes things like this just push me off ledge.

"You weren't consulted because I knew you would react like this," he says in an exasperated tone. "Besides, this helps you both in terms of sponsors."

"What do you mean?" I ask annoyed and impatient.

"People buy this stuff up and now they'll be lining up to help the star cross lovers of District 12," he explains.

I let it sink in and even though I won't admit it, he's right. People here love this soapy cheesy romance stuff. "Still, you could have told me," I say stubbornly at Haymitch.

He sighs and Cinna speaks up. "Madge, I think it was best so your reaction wouldn't have seemed faked or forced."

I look at Cinna and say, "You think so?"

He nods and just like that I calm down. Cinna has that effect on me. He's become a friend of sorts, even if it's only for this short amount of time.

After my little outburst, we all head to dinner in good spirits and later watch the recaps of the interviews. When I come up everyone compliments me on my performance and how good I look. Then, Gale come's up and when he gives his confession I pay close attention to my reaction. I guess everyone is right, with the looking away and some blushing, I pulled it off. The only thing that worries me now is how this is all going to work out in the arena; I don't even want to think about it. It's not that the idea of it all is repulsive, it's just that in the end only one of us will be coming out of there and I'd rather die than for it to come down to me and Gale.

When the recaps are over, it's time for our goodbyes. I'll see Cinna tomorrow but not Portia, Effie or Haymitch. Portia gives me a long hug and wishes me luck. Effie plants a kiss on our foreheads and wishes us luck as well, and then she quickly leaves because she's getting all teary. Cinna bids me goodnight and leave Gale and me with Haymitch.

"So, any last words?" Gale asks him.

"Yes, when the gong sounds get out of there as fast as you can. First, thing is to find water, the rest will follow," he says serious, "Stick together and stay alive."

We nod and without even thinking, I launch myself into his arms. He hesitates for a moment then very carefully wraps his arms around me. He releases me without a word and leaves. Gale and I sit on the coach neither of us making attempt of leaving. A sudden guilt about my earlier scandal makes me say, "Sorry about before."

"I'm sorry too," he says looking at me, "About judging you without really knowing you."

"Is that only about today or about before too," I say softly. I knew that even back in the district he thought of me as a spoiled rich girl and that's why he never talked to me.

"Before too," he says and I can hear the honesty in his voice.

"I'm not what you think I am Gale. I'm not the spoiled daughter of the Mayor or anything like that, you just never attempted to get to _know_ me," I say in a fairly calm voice.

"I know and I really am sorry," he says with a sigh. "Don't you notice how I always end up apologizing to you?"

I smile and he does too. It's nice when he's like this, friendly and joking. I really wish there was a way I could go back in time and just start over with Gale, do things right. I wish we would have been friends and had some good memories but there's no way back. Maybe we can still make things right, but then I realize it's too late because of the Games.

"Are you going to get some sleep?" I ask bringing myself back to this moment.

"I don't think I can, you?" he responds thoughtful.

"No," I say shaking my head. If I go to bed I know my head is just going to keep on running thinking about the horrible things that might happen tomorrow.

"Do you want to go up to the roof?" he asks as an invitation.

Normally I would have said no but it's our last night here and I can't face my dreams tonight. Gale offers me his hand and I take it hesitantly. When he opens the door to the roof, the fresh air fills up my lungs as I take in the view of the people. We go to the railing and see all of them dancing and cheering in the streets. Gale's face has been replaced by a look of disgust and to take it away I say, "Tell me about your family."

Bewilderment is the first thing that crosses his features. I guess he hadn't expected for me to be asking something personal. "What do you want to know?" he asks and I put on a smile when I see he is willing to tell me.

"I don't know. I always wondered how it's like to have a big family," I say curiously. Dad is always working and mom sleeps all day because of the pain so I feel very lonely at times in the house. I always wished I could have a brother or a sister to keep me company or at least someone I could talk to.

Gale smiles and says, "Well, it's a disaster but at the same time it's the most wonderful thing in the world. I feel like a dad to them now. I guess it's the fact that I've taken care of them since I was fourteen and I became the man of the house, which makes me feel responsible for them."

For the next hour he tells me all about his two brothers and little sister. He talks in a very lovable way about them and I can see what he means about being like a dad to them. I can see he would do anything for them. The kids may not have a father but Gale will be and has been their male role model, someone they love and look up too. It makes me feel guilty because I know that my own survival would mean for the kids to loose Gale and I wouldn't be able to have that on my conscious.

He notices I've become quieter and asks, "What's wrong?"

"You know, back at the justice building, I promised Katniss I wouldn't give up but right now I don't even know if I can keep that promise," I say sadly knowing it was the truth.

"Come on Madge. I thought you've gotten past all of that," he says frustrated.

"I thought I was too but Gale… what are we going to do in the arena if we are the last one's standing? I don't want to be the cause of your kids loosing you," I say.

"You won't be. We go in this as a team and we'll just see what happens. Now stop thinking like that," he says seriously.

I nod hesitantly and I'm surprised when Gale grabs my arm pulling me into him. I bury my face into his chest and he wraps his strong arms around me protectively as I breathe in his sweet scent. It feels so impossibly good I wish I could stay in this spot forever. Warmth that spreads through me, from my head to my toes and there's a strong tugging sensation in my stomach. I pull back and Gale uses his thumb to brush off a tear that has somehow escaped my eyes but his hand keeps brushing my cheek. I find myself sinking into his stormy gray eyes that have become full of curiosity and something I can't quite place. His move is so sudden that I freeze when his lips brush against my check and I feel my heartbeat race. I don't know what to think or do, but I suddenly feel the need to escape.

"I think we should get some sleep," I say quietly, looking away at the streets.

"You're right," he says and his voice is so unreadable that I turn to look at his face. His eyes are thoughtful and he's biting his lip.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I say.

He nods and I make my way to the door. Suddenly he calls out something so I stop in my tracks. "Hey, in the arena, just find Rue and run. I'll be following you."

I look back and nod at him. The last I see of him, he's still by the railing with a thoughtful look. I don't think he's going to get any sleep and I'm pretty sure neither will I.

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><p>I have a restless sleep that night. Cinna comes at dawn and together we head to the roof. I go up the hovercraft first and let them inject a tracker on my arm. No way of escape now, I think. Cinna comes up after me and we are directed to a dining room. I try to eat as much as I can but it's hopeless, my nerves are getting the best of me and I have no appetite. Then, the fear kicks in when the hovercraft windows go dark giving us the signal that we are nearing the arena.<p>

Cinna and I get off the hovercraft and into the launch room. He helps me dress into the clothes they've given me. He examines the fabrics to know what sort of weather I'll be facing. A hooded black jacket tells us there will be cold nights. There are also simple tawny pants, a light green blouse and leather boots good for running and climbing. After that, Cinna pulls something out and I burst out, "My pin!"

_Idiot_, I tell myself mentally. With all that has been happening I hadn't even noticed when I had parted from it. Mom wouldn't have forgiven me if I lost it.

"I retrieved it from your clothes. I thought you might want it, so I got it approved as your token," he says and pins it to my blouse.

"Thank you, Cinna," I say hugging him, "For everything."

"You're welcome," he says hugging me back.

He holds me in his arms as we wait for my call. I try not to think of the fact that I could be dead in a couple of hours, instead I think of home; of the happy moments I've had with mom and dad. The first time dad allowed me to touch the piano and the melody he played for me, the many nights I slept in mom's arms afraid of losing her to her pain and somehow the memory of the first time Gale and Katniss came to our house resurfaces in my mind. Now that I think about it, it was a very important day for me because it was when I met my first real friend and my ally in these Games.

The dreadful moment finally arrives and even though I tried to calm down, I'm shaking as I stand up. Cinna and I walk hand in hand to the cylinder that will raise me into the arena. I feel tears whelming up in my eyes but I won't allow them to spill. _Be strong_, I think. Cinna kisses my forehead gently and says, "You can do this Madge, I believe in you. Just remember everything Haymitch told you, okay?"

I nod and hug him one last time before I step onto my plate. I immediately begin to rise and I get one last look at Cinna before I'm blinded by the light above.

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><p>The bright sun blinds me for a moment but when I adjust I find myself in front of the cornucopia with a huge forest surrounding it. There is a lake to my right and most breathtaking of all, an enormous mountain just in the middle of the forest. I have sixty seconds so I try to find Rue and Gale in the circle of pedestals. Rue is only three tributes to my left, but Gale is farther away about six tributes to the right and to make things worse, Cato is only two tributes away from him.<p>

I know immediately to head towards the forest. It's the best choice with Gale's expertise and I don't think any of us want to go climbing a mountain. It looks very rocky and there doesn't seem to be a safe path, plus it's snow capped at the top. Nope, no way I'm headed there. I examine the supplies on the ground. The best supplies are at the top of course, but there are other useful things close by. I know going into the bloodbath is just suicide so I'll decide to grab whatever I can reach and hope Rue and Gale do the same.

I take a glance at Rue and I see her catch my eye. Her eyes flicker towards the woods then back to me. I give a slow nod in her direction, and then turn my attention to Gale who is fixed on us. I look at him and then flicker my own eyes towards the woods. He gives me a nod and positions himself to run towards us. I position my feet too knowing our minute must be almost up and as I do my eyes catches a piece of rope only six feet away and then the gong sounds.

I lunge myself forward to retrieve the rope and I look up to spot Rue. She's almost at the edge of the woods so I run full speed behind her. I want to look back to see if Gale is coming but I can't lose sight of Rue. I'm not a very fast runner but I push my legs to the limit. I hear the fighting behind me and the many whimpers and moans of those dying already. I focus my attention on Rue and try my hardest to ignore the cries. She stops at the edge of the woods to wait for me but I notice she's looking behind me. I panic thinking it's one of the other tributes but I take one quick glace back and see Gale with sweat on his face and a pack on his back.

As I reach the edge of the woods I pause too, to wait for Gale but he's yelling to us, "Go!"

He's only about ten feet back so I let Rue lead and all of us together run into the depths of the forest, escaping the echoing cries from the Cornucopia.

We alternate from running and jogging for the next hours. For the first hour I was okay but my lack of running was wearing on me but the second. Out of the three of us I'm probably the least equipped for the woods. If it were up to me I'd rest for a while but Gale keeps pushing us forward wanting to get as far away from the others as possible. Even though my legs are aching, I'm not one to complain.

The canons of the deaths start firing at some point so we stop to listen. Who knows how many deaths there were today. I start counting them in my head, one, two, three and on. When they stop Gale says, "I counted ten."

Rue and I both nod. Ten dead already and night hasn't even come. The career pack must be gathering all the supplies by now down in the Cornucopia and getting prepared to go hunting. We also stop to check our own supplies. Gale managed to get a small pack and just as I suspected, Cato was right of his heels. "Luckily he got distracted by some other kid who tried to attack him," he explains and holds up the pack, "I couldn't leave empty handed."

"Me either," I say and take out the rope which I had kept inside my jacket and hand it to him. "Here for your snares," I tell him knowing it will help us in terms of food.

He smiles at the sight as the rope seeming relieved and says, "Thanks."

"I grabbed something too," Rue says taking our something from the inside of her jacket. It's a roll of plastic and a small bag with peanuts and oats. She hands them to Gale saying, "We should keep it in the pack."

He grabs them and kneels down to put them in the pack and I notice a sudden glimmer from his belt coming from a knife. "How'd you get that?" I ask pointing at it.

He looks down at his belt and I am taken aback when I see a smear of blood on the knife. He notices my eyes turning wide at the sight of the blood so he angrily replies, "I got if from a fallen tribute, okay Madge? He was already dead."

"I was just asking," I say defensively but at the same time relieved at his words.

He turns away from me and starts emptying the contents of the pack. Rue and I just watch hoping for something that will be of help. There's some iodine in a small bottle, a black sleeping bag, a roll of cloth used for bandages, a bag of beef jerky and I canteen without water. "We should keep moving to find water," Gale says putting everything back and sliding the pack over his shoulders.

We nod and head on. Gale has taken the lead looking for any sign that may indicate the location of water so Rue and I trail behind. As we go I become more aware of the forest around us. I am able to pick up on some sound of animals. I can hear a lot of chirping Rue catches my arm and points to something in the trees. At first I can't see anything but then I see a flap of wings. "Mockingjays," Rue says in a low voice and steps out closer to them and whistles a for tone note.

Gale stops up front and looks back at us. "What-" he says but I make a shushing sound at him.

The mockingjay in the tree stops and looks down on us and Rue whistles again. At first it's silent but then it picks it up and starts whistling back. It's a soft, sweet sound it puts on a smile on my face. I trace my pin in my shirt, imagining the mockingjay getting up and flying off to the trees to sing with the rest. Rue comes to me and looks at the pin. "It's a mockingjay too, right?" she says with curious eyes.

I nod and I am suddenly filled with sadness. "It used to be my aunts," I say softly still tracing the ring around it.

"It's really pretty," she says noticing the change in my mood.

"We should go," Gale says in a soft voice, his bad mood all forgotten.

As he walks off Rue grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. I feel comforted by her hand in mine as a sign of friendship. I know it it's something dangerous in here but I don't care. All I want is to feel safe and comforted right now. There is no telling what will happen in the next hours but one thing is for sure I'll do anything for one of us to go home, even if it means my own death.

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><p><em>AN: Here is the next chapter guys and it's the longest so far. From here and on it's an original plot. It'll be nothing like the books so be ready for surprises. Lots of action next chapter, I promise and Gadge soon!_

_Thanks for reading and REVIEW! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All rights go to Suzanne Collins.**

After hours of walking, we have no luck. There hadn't been any signs of water and it was getting dark. I was getting hungry too, but I didn't want to say anything until my stomach started growling. Gale heard immediately to my embarrassment and Rue gave a small laugh. Gale stops in front of us and begins to pull the bag of beef jerky out when I stop him.

"No, I don't want it. We have to save what we have," I say to him. We only have the beef jerky and the nuts and we've been so busy looking for water Gale hasn't had the chance to set up snares.

"Fine," he says but then walks over to a tree and pulls out the knife.

"What are you doing?" I ask as he starts digging into the tree and pulling outer bark off.

"Getting you something to eat," he says as he works on the tree and comes up with a small piece of inner bark. "Here," he says handing it to me.

I look at him bewildered until I get what he is saying. "This?" I say the disgust obvious in my voice.

"Yes," he says irritated, "It's hard to swallow at first but it'll stop your hunger."

I can't seem to get the disgust off my face. I knew getting food would be hard but I certainly wasn't expecting to be eating bark from a tree. "I don't know if my stomach will be able to hold it," I say honestly.

"Well, I'm sorry it's not some sweet from the Capitol," he says in a rough voice.

Immediately I'm contained with anger. "That's not it," I say defensively, almost shouting the words.

"Hey, guys," Rue says stepping between us, "I have another idea."

She walks over to some bushes behind a tree and starts picking berries. I walk over behind her to look at the berries and Gale does the same. They don't look like any berries I've eaten and by Gale's face I can tell he hasn't either, but Rue reassures us. "We have these back home, they're safe," she says picking one and putting it in her mouth.

We watch as she chews it still unsure. Well it looks safe so I pick one and put it in my mouth. They are good, almost like blackberries and much better than bark. We pick some for later and I grab a handful to eat while we start walking again. We walk until the sun goes down and when Gale suggests we pick a tree for the night I realize we have a problem. "I can't climb," I say to Gale and Rue.

"What do you mean you can't climb?" Gale asks exasperated, "Didn't you learn in training?"

"No," I say, "Remember, we were so focused on finding me a weapon, that we never tried the climb rope."

"After all we trained is this really what's going to lead you to your death," he says roughly.

"I'm not going to die just by sleeping here in the ground Gale," I say angry now, "You and Rue can go up the tree and I'll stay here."

"Too risky," he says impatient, "What if the careers come?"

"Then we'll take turns watching," I say, "That way we all get rest."

"Okay, but I'll stay here with you," he says and turns to Rue, "You can sleep up there, I'll stay down here with Madge."

"You don't have to-" I begin but he interrupts me.

"I'm not discussing it," he says and out of the pack he takes out the rope. "I'm going to set up some snares, see if we have any luck on food."

"Don't go far," Rue calls after him as he leaves.

Gale's character has certainly changed in here. He is way more serious and demanding. I mean, I wasn't expecting him to be all sweet and cheesy, since we are in the middle of a war zone, but he and Haymitch were the ones that came up with the romance stuff and right now we can barely be called friends. I sit on the ground to wait for him and Rue come to sit beside me. I dig my fingers into the hard ground, ripping some weed and playing with the leaves and twigs that have fallen. I'm starting to feel the effects of dehydration. My tongue and throat are dry and my lips are starting to crack. Hopefully tomorrow we'll have better luck, or Haymitch can just send us some but I have a feeling he wouldn't if we asked.

"Are you guys always like this?" Rue asks interrupting my train of thought.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You know, always bickering," she says smiling, "Is that how all people in love act."

"Oh, were not, I mean I'm not…" I say my face turning red, "It's complicated."

I hadn't thought of how all our fighting looked like to her or even to the audience. Right now I'm just thinking about staying alive as Haymitch said, although I think he's pretty pissed at us for all the arguing. There is now time for it anyway and with Rue here it would just be awkward. Besides, Gale was the one that confessed his love; I on the other hand didn't say anything back.

"Sure it is," Rue say with a teasing smile and I can't help but smile back.

We sit in silence waiting for Gale and listening to the forest. There's the sound of the animals and now that I'm paying attention, my fear finally catches up to me. I could die at any minute, at any time without knowing when or how. I'm lucky just now by surviving so far. There could be people in the shadows watching us, waiting for the right moment to strike. Just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine. Suddenly, there's a rustling in the bushes and Rue and I stand up unsure of what's behind it. The rustling gets bigger but then Gale's head pops out. "There, I set up about ten all around. Let's hope to get lucky," he says.

We settle in for the night, Rue climbs up the tree to a low branch, with the sleeping bag Gale and I insisted on her having, while we slump on the ground. The anthem suddenly booms and the images of the dead appear on the sky. First to appear is the girl from District 3, then the boy from 4, the boy from 5, both from 6 and 7, the boy from 8, the girl from 9, and girl from 10. Ten dead already and no question there will be more during the night as the careers set out to hunt.

"I'll take first watch," Gale says.

He's close enough to where I can see him but not close enough to touch. The temperature has started to drop dramatically. It's a good thing we gave Rue the sleeping bag so she won't get cold, but now I begin to shiver and I can't seem to be able to sleep. I bring the hood of my jacket up to cover my head and zip the zipper up to my neck. Sure, the jacket reflects body heat but right now it's not helping at all. I hear some rustling and turn to see Gale moving closer to me. "Scoot over," he whispers, pulling me by the waist.

I scoot cautiously and lean on his side with his arm around me. His body heat warms me and I am immediately comforted. I don't know if he's doing this for my sake or for his but I'm grateful. "Thanks," I say quietly.

We are quiet but much warmer now. I'm about to drift off to sleep when Gale's voice bring me back. "I'm sorry," he says softly, "Again."

"About what?" ask.

"About being a jerk to you today," he says, "I just fell so tense and anxious that it bring the bad out of me.

"Well, you must feel like that every day since you act like that every day," I say with a small smile.

"So what you're saying is… that I'm a jerk every day?" he asks playfully.

"Well… I wouldn't say it like that," I say smiling and then turn serious, "I'm sorry too."

"For what?" he whispers.

"For making it even more complicated," I say quietly not only meaning us but everything. I know I slow him down and he has to put up with me. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't been chosen but he had, he would still come out victor.

There is no sound in the forest now, so I can perfectly hear his breathing and if I pay close attention I can almost hear the thudding of his heart. "You know that everything I'm doing is for our safety right? I mean, I not trying to be an ass," he says looking down on me, his gray eyes sparkling. I know he's trying to say it jokingly, but there's also truth in it.

"I know," I whisper but I can barely keep my eyes open now.

He notices my exhaustion and says, "Go to sleep. I'll wake you if there's a need."

He pulls me closer so I willingly sink deeper into him. It feels nice being this close to him and not just because of the warmth. It feels comfortable, normal, as if we've done this before but most of all it makes me feel safe. Safe from the night that could turn in any moment, safe from any nightmares that might come and safe from those out there who are searching and want us dead.

Of course, you can never be safe in the arena, and that is confirmed when I am awoken by the sound of a canon. When I open my eyes, I am no longer in Gale's arms. He is standing up looking at something. I stand up and go to look but Gale's already pulling me in the other direction.

"What? What's going on?" I ask still sleepy.

"They're coming," is all he says and then call up to the tree, "Rue, we need to move!"

Her tiny head pops out and stares down at us. "I'll follow you by the trees, just stay close," she says but gives no further explanation.

Then, as Gale picks up the pack, I hear them. Their footsteps grow louder, along with their yelling and cheering. The careers are here and they are coming for us.

Our only choice is to run. We have no weapons other than the knife Gale took at the cornucopia. "Let's go!" Gale yells pulling me more roughly this time.

We run as fast as we can through the forest, keeping close to the trees as Rue says, but I know it's futile. They are bigger and much faster than us. I'm stumbling and tripping because I can't see. It's still night so it helps conceal our path, but I can't barely see where I'm going; I am just following Gale's back. I glance up to see as Rue jumps from one tree to the other. Until then is that I notice where we are headed. Rue must have too, because she scrambles down a tree further in front of us. "Gale! Are you sure?" I yell to him.

He's about ten feet in front of me now. Gosh I'm slow, I think. "We have no choice!" he yells back and stops to wait for me. Rue slows down too up front but I hear the careers closer now.

"We can hear you twelve and your little friend!" one of them yelled and I'm pretty sure it was Cato.

Adrenaline shoots through me and I run faster as do Gale and Rue. It feels cowardice to run but if we didn't we'd be dead for sure, so together we run straight into the mountain.

"Hurry, find somewhere," I whisper frantically as we go up. We need to find somewhere to hide fast before they catch up and by what I can tell we only have minutes.

"Come on," Gale says directing us in the rocky terrain, "Here!"

There's a crack between some rocks that we can wedge into to hide. Rue hurries in first going as far inside as she can and I scramble behind her. Gale is behind me with the knife ready just in case. It's pretty tight but we all manage to bundle together so no one is left exposed. Gale stands closest to the opening but we can barely see each other. Our breathing is fast and loud from agitation and dread of what might happen if they find us here. There are some yells outside and I begin to tremble, swear slipping down my forehead. I don't dare to breath now.

"I swear I saw them come this way," says the voice of a girl.

I can feel my blood pulsing in my ears and wish that I could stop my heart too from its loud thudding. I feel a hand reach for mine and I immediately know its Rue's. I squeeze tightly in reassurance moving closer to her and at the same time I pull Gale by the arm willing him to come deeper. He obediently moves but I'm not willing to let go of his arm and he doesn't restrain. Then, at the opening of our hiding place I see the edge of a boot. They are just outside and they could find us at any moment or maybe they already have because the footsteps have stopped.

"They're not here! Now, come on let's keep searching," says the voice I identify as Cato.

"But, I swear, those brats have to be somewhere around here," says the girl.

"We are wasting hunting time. If you want to stay and look then go ahead," Cato says in an angry voice.

We hear as his footsteps leave along with some others but I can still see the boot at the entrance. The girl seems to hesitate but finally she walks off behind them.

I let out a sigh of relief but don't move. They could still be close by and hear our footsteps if we came out. We wait until we decide it's the appropriate amount of time to come out. I'm still trembling and so is Rue, but Gale is already thinking ahead. "Let's keep going up" he says.

"Up where?" I ask confused. He can't seriously be thinking about going up the mountain, right?

"Up the mountain," he says rolling his eyes as if it was obvious and okay it was, but it is totally crazy.

"For what Gale? The terrain is too rocky, it's freezing and if you hadn't noticed it's still night," I say gesturing around us.

"Madge is right," Rue speaks up, "Besides, we can barely keep up with you."

He is losing his patience and Rue and I can see it. "Just tell us one good reason why we should keep going," I say.

"Water," he says in his normal tone of voice.

We immediately understand; the snow. If we melted the snow we would have something to drink and one less thing to worry about. It's dangerous of course, but the thought of finally finding water makes me so thirsty I agree and so does Rue.

Gale leads again but slows down so Rue and I aren't left behind. It's almost dawn so it's getting clearer to see but as we go p it's also getting colder and harder to breath. We stop to catch our breath just as the sun comes up. It's such a beautiful scene I can't help but gasp at its sight. That feeling is immediately gone as the sound of a canon booms in the distance. We are silent knowing it was useless to guess who has died. Gale opens the pack and takes out the bag of jerky to eat. We divide one piece into three and each of us have a small handful of nuts and berries. All this has made me even thirstier but it has also reminded me of something. "We left the snares down there," I burst of randomly.

"We'll go down after we get the water and check," Gale says, "I still have some rope that I cut from the rest anyway."

We keep moving up the rocky terrain with swear building up on our foreheads. It may be getting colder as we go up, but the sun is shining bright and high in the sky. By mid-day I'm so tired I feel I might pass out at any moment. We are halfway up the mountain but there's no sign of snow yet so Rue decides to get a look from high up on a tree we encounter. "It's been too quiet," Gale says as Rue checks, "It'll only be a matter of time until the Gamemakers decide to do something about it."

He's right, there haven't been any deaths since morning so the audience must be getting bored and that's something the Gamemakers don't want to happen.

"Guys!" Rue yells excited, "I think I found it."

She starts climbing down fast and starts running north. "Come on!" she says.

Gale and I run behind her with difficulty but with hope at her words. Then, almost out of nowhere I see it. Snow everywhere, in the trees, rocks and ground. Rue runs straight in and I follow behind. I'm so full of joy at the sight I begin laughing, grabbing snow from the ground and throwing it in the air. Snow rains down all around me and Rue who starts to do the same. We are so engulfed in the moment that it takes us a few minutes to notice Gale standing by the edge.

"What's wrong?" I ask coming over to him.

His eyes are fixed on the ground with a suspicious look. "This doesn't feel right," he says slowly nodding to the ground.

I look down and see what he means. On the ground he is stepping in, there is nothing but rock and then there's a line that divides the ground with snow. It is definitely unnatural. "Let's just get the snow and go," I say worried now.

He hesitates for a moment but then puts a foot carefully on the ground as if at any moment he would be knocked off by some bomb. He pulls the pack over is shoulder and takes out the canteen. Rue comes over and start filling it up with snow, then Gale drops in the right amount of iodine and we wait for it to melt.

We are all impatient to get a drink but when the time comes, we take slow sips. Every sip I take feels like the best drink I've ever had. My whole boy just seems to power back up as my mouth fills up with water. We drink the whole canteen in an hour and we fill it up again. "What are we going to do when we finish this bottle?" Rue asks.

"There must be some other form of water," Gale says, "Other than the snow or the lake. We just have to look."

"Should we start heading down?" I say. It's still the afternoon but it would be safer to get off the mountain before night hits. Who know what kind of creatures roam around her at night?

"Yeah, we better-" he says but is cut off by a sudden shake at our feet.

Snow starts falling heavily from the trees which are shaking now too. We look up and all I see is a huge amount of snow falling in an overwhelming quantity our way.

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><p><em>AN_: _Hey, guys so what'd you think? I didn't think they should face the careers just yet but you never know... Also, the next chapter might take me longer to upload since I'm having all these exams at school so it's just a heads up._

_Thanks for reading and feel free to comment! _


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>"Run!" Gale yells as if that isn't obvious.<p>

I push my legs to the limit following after him with Rue behind me. Everything after that happened to fast to recall the exact details. I ran down tripping and slipping a couple of times, the avalanche of show moving too fast behind us. It was bringing down trees and huge rocks along with it too. We were trying our best to outrun it even though we knew we couldn't do it.

We were getting separated too. Gale was much faster than us, about 20 feet away. Rue was stumbling too and even though she was quick, she was far behind me. I wanted to stop and wait for her but if I did, the avalanche would for sure catch up with me too. I was torn. I wouldn't blame Gale for leaving us behind but I knew I couldn't leave Rue. I started slowing down but kept a steady jog so she could catch up. When I looked behind me, I was relieved to see she was closer. She saw me slowing and tried to hurry by picking up her pace. I decided to stopped altogether without caring that the sliding rocks of snow where only a few feet from us. I lost total sight of Gale by that point but I didn't care about that either.

When Rue was near reaching distance, I grabbed her hand and we ran. The avalanche right behind us and I knew it was inevitable for it to hit us. "Don't let go of my hand!" I yelled to Rue and at that moment, we were knocked off our feet.

It felt as if we were hitting rocks. I tried to tighten my grip on Rue's hand as we fell backwards. There was snow everywhere. It was getting in my clothes and mouth and as much as I tried, I couldn't keep my eyes open. We had no control over our movements and we were being thrown and tossed down many times. I couldn't feel anything other than Rue's hand, but it was slipping from my grasp. My body had shut down completely and had gone numb. I tried with my greatest effort to tighten my grip but my hands were unresponsive. I felt as her fingers slid from mine until I could only feel her finger tips and then, they were gone. I couldn't resist anymore. I let the snow drag me down the mountain and into unconsciousness.

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><p>When I wake up, I am under a layer of snow. The sun is up and high in the sky. I don't know how long I've been unconscious but it must have been a long time because I'm almost under two feet of snow, only my face is uncovered. I can't feel my body. It's too numb from the cold and even though I probably slept for hours, I'm exhausted. Blinking is even an effort.<p>

I don't know how badly I'm hurt and since I can't find a way for my body to respond there's no way of telling. I know I should move to regain control but I can't. I can't see anyone around me but I still call out, "Rue."

My voice is hoarse and it's barely a whisper. There's no response. She must have ended up somewhere else, I think but just ten I hear a noise coming from my left. "Rue," I call again a little louder.

"I'm here," I hear and I'm positive it's her voice.

I try to stand but as soon as I lift my head an awful pain comes. I reach up to touch my forehead and find it wet and sticky. I bring my hand down and see it stained with blood. I start to panic. I don't even remember hitting anything. "Are you okay?" I ask Rue, "Are you hurt?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she says in a small voice, "Just some bumps and bruises, you?"

"Umm, I have a huge cut on my forehead, but otherwise I'm fine," I say not making a big deal out of it. I lift my arm to press the sleeve of my jacket to it to stop the bleeding. If anyone finds this spot later and see the blood they'll be following us so I have to be careful.

"Let me see," she says and I can hear some grunts as she stands up and comes over to me. She kneels down next to me and I remove my sleeve for her to see. She examines it and says, "It's not deep so that's good. Just to be safe, keep up your sleeve."

"Let's go before the blood start dripping into the snow," I say and sit up with a great effort. I look at our surroundings and see that we're at the bottom of the mountain but I can't remember from where we can from. There's no way of telling by all the snow in the trees and besides, we had been running from the careers and it was night.

"Should we go looking for Gale?" she asks giving me space as I stand.

My legs are wobbly as I stand and ponder her question. I lost sight of Gale just before the avalanche hit so it's no wonder he isn't here. I don't even know if Gale got caught in it and it worries me. We should have stayed together, but our own will to live won over and I don't blame him. "Let's just get out of here," I say not really decided. It's better to go anywhere than to stay here defenseless but then, I realize we have another problem. "Wait!" I say to Rue almost with a yell as she was going to take a step.

"Our prints are going to leave a trail the snow when we leave," I say looking down.

"What do we do?" she says bringing her foot back.

We stand there thinking and suddenly, I begin to tremble. My body is finally responding, and the first thing it's going to feel is cold. My teeth begin to chatter and I feel like I'm suffocating. Think Madge, I tell myself.

There's no way to erase them, but maybe… we can confuse them. "That's it! What if our prints wen the opposite way we were going?" I say somewhat proud of my idea.

Rue has a confused look on her face. "You lost me," she says honestly and I laugh.

"Let's walk backwards," I say smiling, "It sounds kind of stupid but hopefully it'll work."

Her face lights up when she gets it and smiles. "We'll look like idiots but let's do it."

"The snow has to stop somewhere anyway so we won't have to be walking like that forever," I reassure her.

Since we have no idea where we came from, we start walking in no particular direction. "Let's just search and see if we recognize any place," I tell Rue who just nods.

It's difficult not knowing where we are going but it wasn't for long. The snow stopped when we had walked a mile and then it turned to dirt. We were once again in the forest. We found some bushes of the berries Rue had recognized from before and ate from those. We continued walking in what seemed like circles. It was getting dark and I was starting to doubt if it was a good idea to find Gale. Yes, I did want to find him, but wouldn't he be better off on his own? _I wonder if he's trying to find us_, I think. It's most likely he is. It's just that I know that Rue and I slowed him down and…if he was on his own he wouldn't have to worry about protecting us. Without us, he had a pretty good chance at winning. It was probably for the best. I didn't want to tell Rue this though, so I kept quiet about it.

As Rue and I walked through the forest she began asking me about my life. She wanted to know what it was like being the Mayor's daughter and even though I hated talking about it, I told her everything she wanted to know. She seemed so curious and intrigued by my life that it amused me. I knew the cameras would also be interested and fixed on us, so I only told what I wanted to. When she asked about my friends, I told her about Katniss. "She's Gale's best friends too, you know," I tell her.

"She is?" Rue asks and I laugh at her expression.

"Yeah," I say, "It's weird that even though she was both our friend we never talked to each other."

"Weird," she say in agreement.

I laugh again but I don't feel like talking about my life anymore or about Gale. "What about you Rue? How do you live in District 11?" I ask changing the subject.

"Well, most of the time we spend our time in the fields harvesting," she says and goes on telling me about her life.

It is certainly different from mine, but I can also tell it's different from anyone's in District 12. Their rules seem stricter and even harsher. She tells me that whippings occur frequently when people steal crops, whereas I don't think there has ever been a whipping in my lifetime at home.

"Do you have any brothers or sister?" I ask.

"Oh, yes," she says, "I have six younger siblings."

"Six?" I ask incredulous and now it's her that laughs at my expression.

"Yes," she says, "And I love every single one of them."

Just like Gale, she talks in a very lovable and protective way about them. It makes me a little jealous hearing how much love there is within their big families. Being an only child is something that has bugged me forever, but I know I can't blame mom for it. Even though my family is small, our love is just as big and abundant as any ones.

"What do you love most in the world, Rue?"

"Music," she says without even needing to think about it.

"Music," I repeat the word and relate to it, "I play the piano, you know." Or used to, I add in my mind.

"I wish I could have heard you play," she says sadly.

"Me too," I whisper, "I wish I could have met your family."

She smiles a sad smile and we continue. Our feet have reached a muddy surface and it only takes us a minute to realize what it means. "Rue!" I exclaim excited.

"Come on!" she says hurrying forward.

I trail behind her with my spirits lifted. We find a small pond just a few feet away. There are lily pads and I can hear the crocking of frogs nearby. It's such a relief finding water again. We have nothing to hold it in so we drink with our hands. When night falls, we decide to stay close by the pond since we have no other source of water. Rue tells me she is willing to stay in the ground with me but I refuse. I know it's too dangerous so instead, with my greatest effort, I manage to climb a small tree and Rue comes up with me. We huddle close and cover ourselves as much as we can with our jackets.

"I wonder how many days we were out," I whisper.

"Who knows" Rue says shrugging her shoulders, "Maybe if we find Gale he can tell us."

"Yeah," I say awkwardly, "Maybe."

The anthem booms in the speakers and then the faces of the boy from 3, the girl from 4 and the boy from 9 appear in the sky. "Do you think they got taken out in the avalanche?" asks Rue.

"That seems most likely," I say.

The avalanche is the only way I can think that those three tributes died or maybe the careers killed them? No, the girl from 4 is dead and I'm pretty sure she was with them. None of it matters now I guess, at least we are ok and I'm relieved to find that so is Gale.

I stay on guard as Rue sleeps. The night is cold and dark. Although it was my idea to sleep here, I don't think I can sleep so far off the ground. The forest is alive with sounds as I listen. How long has it been now since we entered? Four days? I can't even be sure if it's that short because right now it feels like we've been in here for ages. Everything has just fallen apart in those couple of hours. We were chased by the careers, we got separated from Gale, and we were left with nothing.

_Gale_. It's strange, but I had felt somewhat safe coming in here because I knew I would be with him, but now fear has overpowered every other feeling. I don't regret staying with Rue but I do regret not yelling for him to stop and wait for us. It's too late now and there's no use of thinking about it either, I tell myself.

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><p><em>AN: Short chapter this time, sorry. So there's a few thing you should be aware of. They were in the avalache and got knocked out so they think only 13 tributes are dead but it's really 15. This will get sorted out later, I promise. Gale is somewhere off on his own, but he will be back soon. Although it may be to late and arrive at a tragic moment. I really felt like getting in some Madge/Rue interaction in this chapter so I hoped you guys liked it._

_Thanks for reading and pretty please REVIEW (^_^)_


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than my pure imagination.**

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><p>I am awoken by the sound of birds chirping. I rub my eyes, adjusting to the strong light from the sun rising. I had fallen asleep during the night at some point which seems impossible since I was sacred I might fall off at night. Rue is waking up too and rises beside me. I am stiff and my back is aching from the position I slept in so I climb down to stretch, Rue right behind me.<p>

"Do you think it's safe to stay here?" she asks rubbing her own eyes.

"No, but what other choice do we have?" I say. There's no way we can carry the water so it forces us to stay here. If only there was a way we could get a bottle or another canteen. An idea hits me unexpectedly and although it's risky, I can't think of another way. "What if we found a way to steal from the careers?" I say cautiously.

"From the careers?" Rue asks with wide eyes.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," I say quickly. I have to admit I am scared of even trying but I know staying here in broad daylight is even far more dangerous.

"No," she says, "I mean, we can at least try, right?"

"Yeah," I say agreeing, "It doesn't hurt to try."

We make a plan all morning long. We have a pretty good idea where the lake is based on the view Rue got from the trees. We are also certain that's the careers camp. There are four of them so we now at least one of them has to stay to guard so we have to enter from the opposite way they are positioned. We also have a precaution in case we do get caught. Rue found a rock sharp enough to carve a piece of wood into a stake. It's not much but if we manage to sneak in then maybe we can retrieve a weapon too.

We gather some berries from some bushes to eat, along with some roots Rue dug up. Furthermore, we keep some of the berries to help us as a landmark. We decide to rub some berries on a tree every 10 feet so we can come back to the pond. It can be risky if some other tribute sees the pattern and follows it which would cause us to encounter them but we decide it's worth it.

At what we think is noon, we set out; me with the stake in hand and Rue with the berries. If we succeed this will be one less worry and if we fail there won't be any harm done, that is if we don't get caught. It takes us a couple of hours but we finally get to the edge of the clearing beside the cornucopia.

As expected, one of the careers is guarding. It's the girl from 1 this time. The supplies are all stacked together in a huge pile. Rue and I take in the scene for a few moments and together move behind the supplies where it's impossible for the girl to see us. Very slowly we take one step at a time forward trying to be as quiet as possible. My heartbeat is racing and sweat is building up in my forehead. I look in the pile frantically looking for a bottle, when Rue whispers, "I got it."

My eyes move from Rue and land on a knife. It's just like the one's I practiced with in training so I grab it. Hurriedly, we move backwards into the forest, and just when I thought we succeeded a voice stops us in our tracks. "Going somewhere?"

We turn and find the girl from 1 with a loaded bow pointing at us. I am shaking with terror but my grasp on the tilt of the knife is strong and steady. She sees me tighten my grip on it and says, "Try it and your little ally here is dead." She moves the bow so it is pointing directly at Rue's forehead.

I don't know how good she is with it but I can't take my chances. I loosen my grip and she smiles a vicious smile letting go of the quiver. "No!" I yell and immediately launch the knife towards her. It lands on her forehead and she falls with a cry. "Rue!" I yell and see her on the ground.

I run and kneel beside her but she just sits up. "I'm fine. She had horrible aim," she says and I find myself laughing with joy and pull her into a hug. A canon fires letting us know the girl is dead.

_She's dead_, I think, _and I killed her_. _I killed her_. These words run through my head and I begin to tremble. "Madge? Are you okay?" Rue asks panicking and I shake my head. "We have to go. The hovercraft will be here in a couple of seconds."

She helps me stand and pulls me towards the forest. "Wait," I say chocking out the words, "Let's take the bow."

She hurries to retrieve it from the fallen girl and gives it to me along with the arrows. She grabs the bottle from the ground, along with another knife and then pushes me forward. My head is not right as I follow Rue through the forest. I feel lost, disoriented. I murdered someone, I think repeatedly and I can't shake the word from my mind. I stumble and trip a few time but we continue until we are back to the pond. I slump in the ground as Rue fills up the bottle. She takes a few sips from it before giving it to me and then she sits down beside me on the cold ground.

Tears are streaming from my face but Rue doesn't say anything for a while, she just holds my hand. "You saved me," are her first words but I don't respond.

I saved her but at what price? I took the life of someone I didn't even know. I hadn't realized how much it would affect me. I feel disgusted at myself. I might as well have the word murderer on my forehead for everyone to see. Tears keep coming from my eyes like an endless waterfall as Rue holds me. I don't even care if I look weak anymore. People can think what they want. It doesn't change this harsh reality or how I feel about what I did.

It takes me sometime to calm down but I finally do. "Let's go Rue, we can't stay here any longer," I say wiping my face with my hands and grab the bow and arrows from the ground.

"Okay," she agrees, quietly watching me.

We move slowly but efficiently, stopping a few times to drink water. I'm still recovering from my meltdown but now I begin to think about what this means. There's only three careers now, then there's Thresh, Rue, Gale and me and someone else… who is it? I can't remember but relief fills me up knowing that this torture will soon end. Whether that's by death or victory I'll soon be free. I'm so deep in my thoughts that I don't notice Rue has stopped until I hear her voice. "Doesn't this look familiar?" she says looking around.

"What?" I say staring at her lost.

"This!" she says gesturing around her at the forest.

"I don't…" I say utterly confused.

"Yes," she says, "Look closely."

I obey her and look closer at our surroundings. She's right, this place is familiar and then I realize why. "Oh!" Of course, how didn't I notice it! It's the first place we camped out, just before the careers came. I walk over to the tree we slept at and touch the rough trunk, leaving all our belongings in the ground. Being here reminds me of Gale, of the night I slept in his arms, and it makes me want to smile but instead I shake my head to clear it. I realize it's become too quiet so I turn to look for Rue.

I spot her fifteen feet away looking up a tree. "Rue? What are you-" I say but I stop when I notice what she's looking at. It's a bird that has cotton pink feather and a long, pointy beak. Suddenly, it's no longer Rue I'm seeing… it's Maysilee. I am no longer watching her from fifteen feet away but from thousands of miles through a TV screen at home. Maysilee is looking at the strange bird with curious eyes and whistles towards it a four note tune. The response of the bird is immediate, it soars up from the branch with immense speed starts flying towards her and she screams.

"Rue!" I yell and run towards her, even though I know it'll be too late. As I run, I watch as the bird screws its beak through Maysilee's neck, through Rue's neck. "No!" I yell but I stumble and hit the hard ground with my face. There is another jerk from my feet and it shoots me with pain. As I try to stand I hear a flapping of wings and know that it's coming towards me. I look up to see as the bird approaches me, its beak stained with blood. I try so hard to stand but my ankle is in too much pain. I scream once and close my eyes hoping death is quick. Then, there's a high pitch squawk that lasts only a moment and then stops. I open my eyes and just catch a glimpse of the bird falling to the ground with an arrow through it. I try to look around but my eyes are so filled with tears that my vision is blurry. "Madge?" a voice say with worry and then I hear as he comes beside me.

"Gale?" I say in a shaky voice. I wipe a few tears away to see his face. He's sweaty and there's a pained, worried look on his face. "Rue…" I try to say but the words barely come out clearly. A canon fires off in the distance and I know it's too late. She's gone. I look around and finally find her small form to my right. I flinch from the pain in my ankle as I try to stand again. Gale immediately notices I'm in pain and helps me. He picks me up slowly in his arms and I gesture for him to take me to Rue and he nods. He sets me down slowly beside her and we look upon her.

The wound is a hole that goes through her whole neck and blood stains it all. Her face is somewhat peaceful compared to everything else. Tears start forming immediately in my eyes but I don't make an attempt to brush them away. With my hand I push a few strands of hair off Rue's face and stroke her hair. Gale doesn't tell me to hurry but I know the hovercraft must be coming. I force myself up ignoring the pain and plant a light kiss on her forehead. Gale comes over and does the same, and then he stands and gathers the supplies. He puts the pack, bow and arrows on his back, the knife on his belt and then comes over to me. Without a word, he lifts me up again and we walk away. Over his shoulder I get one last look at Rue before the trees come between us and then I bury my face in Gale's chest knowing the tears wouldn't stop for a while.

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><p>I must have fallen asleep because when I wake up the sun is going down. I am laid down on the ground under a canopy of branches and leaves. Gale is sitting at the entrance of the canopy looking at the sky. He has his back towards so I can't see his face. My face feels wet because of the undried tears and my throat is dry.<p>

"Gale?" I croak his name out.

He turns and when he sees me awake he comes beside me. "Hey," he says softly and brushes a strand of hair out of my face. He looks okay, just some bruises on his forehead and some scratches in his arms.

"Hi," I say tiredly.

"How are you feeling?" he says his face turning serious.

"Thirsty," I say immediately and he smiles.

He goes over to the pack, which is at a corner with the bow and arrows, and takes out one of the canteens. He comes over and helps me hold my head up as I sip. "Thanks," I say and then something catches my eye. My right ankle has been bandaged up nice and tight.

Gale notices me looking at it and answers the question in my mind. "Yeah, I had to bandage it. I think it may be broken." I try to move it but wince at the immediate pain. "Easy," he says stopping me.

I nod and rest my head back down. The outside has grown dark and out of nowhere the anthem booms. Gale goes to see the sky but I don't need to see it to know that the only face out there tonight will be Rue. Just the thought of it bring fresh tears to my eyes. I close my eyes to ignore them but I unwillingly let out a sob.

"Madge? What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Gale says worriedly coming back to my side.

I shake my head. "It's my fault Gale…Rue."

Gale makes a shushing sound and wipes my tears away but new ones replace them. "No, it's not Madge. Don't blame yourself, there's nothing you could have done. The bird would have killed you too," he says trying to calm me.

_The birds_. The worst part of it all is not just that Rue died, but the way she did like my aunt Maysilee. It's obvious now to me that bird was for me. They were going to kiss me the same way they killed her, but Rue was there at the wrong time, at the wrong spot. "It should have been me," I whisper more to myself than him, "That bird was meant to kill me."

"You can't know that," he says now desperate.

"Yes I can," I say through the tears, "I do. My aunt Maysilee died the same way Gale. It was like I was reliving it as I watched Rue, but it was supposed to be me."

I completely breakdown then. I try to shut out the whole world out by closing my eyes but then I feel Gale's arms around me. He pulls me close to him and lets me cry in his chest. He starts stroking my hair and I feel comforted by his presence. He puts his cheek to rest on my head and I can feel h is soft breathing in my hair. We stay like that for a while, holding on to each other, or mostly Gale holding me. _At least we are together again_, I think.

After a while he says, "If it's anyone's fault it's mine, Madge."

I pull back to look at his face and I see he's serious. "How can it be your fault Gale?"

"Because," he says, "If only I had been there, I could have protected the two of you. It was my obligation to take care of you two…and it still is."

I shake my head disagreeing but instead I say, "Where were you?" It's not an accusation, it's just a question but an ashamed look crosses Gale's features. "I'm not blaming you for leaving Gale, I was just worried about you," I say touching his cheek.

He closes his eyes at my touch. "But I do blame myself Madge. The easiest instruction Haymitch gave us was to stay together and I couldn't even do that. I was too late and now Rue is gone."

"You're here now," I say and he opens his gray eyes, "That's all that matters."

"I promise you I'm not going to leave again. No matter what, we stay together," he says with an intense look.

"Together," I agree and he leans down to give me a kiss on the forehead.

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><p><em>AN: The inevitable happened. Rue is gone...but hey Gale's back! Sorry, do you guys think it was too cruel how I killed her off? But the Games are supposed to be cruel so...I don't know at first I thought it was but then I thought about how Madge would feel and I decided to do it. Anyways, things are going to get heated up and what do I mean by that...Gadge!_

_Please Review! Doesn't that new big, blue button just make you want to push it? It's so pretty ;)_


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>Gale insists on taking watch even though I volunteer but he refuses. His stubbornness is bigger than mine so I give in. I don't have a good night though. I relive the bird attach in my dreams the whole night. It replays sometimes with Rue, others with aunt Maysilee and even me. My terror is so great I can't find a way to wake up. I would have thought Gale would have woken my up but he doesn't and when I open my eyes I see why. He is nowhere in sight.<p>

"Gale?" I call out hoping he's just outside but he doesn't answer. I manage to sit up and try calling again, "Gale?"

Nothing. I try to think of where he could have gone but I come up blank. Besides, why wouldn't he tell me? Then, another thought hits me. What if something happened to him? I try to move and I find a way to scoot myself enough to look outside. Everything looks calm, almost peaceful. It's still night but I can tell the sun is about to come out. The trees stand tall and still, there's a light breeze that makes leaves rustle and to my new discomfort I can hear mockingjays chirping. There is another option as to what happened to him but I refuse to think of it. _He wouldn't_, I think and his words from last night reassure me, _I promise you, I'm not going to leave again_.

I wait what seems a reasonable amount of time for him to get somewhere and back but he doesn't show. The stress and worry increase until I can't take it anymore and decide to go looking. I know it's stupid but I just can't wait here any longer. My ankle is in the same bandage but it feels much better. I can move it but I'll have to go slow so it doesn't get worse. He left the pack and knife but I notice the bow and arrows are gone. I sling the pack over my shoulder, strap the knife to my belt and head out quickly.

"Gale!" I call out as loud as I dare walking at a steady pace. Although the ground is soft with leave and grass, I wince every time my ankle touches the ground accidentally. I am mostly stepping on my tiptoes with my right foot, the boot inside the pack. "Gale!" I call out again desperately. The forest makes no sound as if it's asleep. _Where is he?_ I think. Sweat is building up quickly in my forehead by all the effort I'm having with my ankle. I realize now I haven't eaten anything since last night but I refuse to stop. Apart of me is complaining to stop and go back but most of me is pushing me to continue, to find him.

The sun is so bright it almost blinds me. "Gale!" My vision is blurry and the pack on my back seems to have gained weight and it's dragging me down. The ground is unstable under my feet and my body sways. My face is wet and I suddenly think it's raining but I realize the drops are from tears, my tears. "Gale!" I call out one last time before my legs crumble and I drop to the ground.

The pain is too much. My face drops to my hands so the cameras can't see or ge3t a close up. I'm no good alone. The reason I've lasted so long into the competition was because of Rue and Gale. But no, Gale is still here somewhere. He doesn't need me though. It would be better some other tribute find me and kill me. _Why am I even looking for him?_ I think, but I already know why. I can't be without him. I have to know if he's okay and make sure he goes home, to District 12.

"Madge?" a voice calls and my head snaps up immediately.

"Gale?" I call gently. I can't move but I hear footsteps coming my way already, and then Gale appears from between some trees.

"Madge? Where were you?" he says and comes over to me quickly, dropping down beside me. He clears some of my hair from my face and says worriedly, "Are you okay?"

I shake my head and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him close. He wraps his arms around me instantly but I know he's still worried about me. "I was trying to find you," I say into his chest.

"Trying to find me?" he asks in disbelief and I feel his head shake. "I left to hunt and though I'd be back by the time you woke up, but when I did you weren't there. What were you thinking Madge?" he says, "Why didn't you stay in the canopy?"

_Because I'm stupid_, I think, _and I shouldn't have doubted you_. "I'm sorry," is all I say.

"Don't apologize," he says and holds me tighter, "I was worried something might have happened to you and I just couldn't take it. I can't lose you again."

My stomach turns and I feel my pulse quicken. "Why not?" I say pulling back to see his face, "You'd be better off without me."

His face turns into a pained expression and says, "Let's not talk about this."

"Yes, let's talk," I say but he turns his face away towards the forest. "Gale…" I say and reach to grab his hand.

He looks down and entwined his fingers with mine, then looks up to meet my eyes. His are like gray storm clouds, intense and focused. "I'm not discussing this. We're together in this, remember?" he says in a soft voice and I know there's no point in arguing with him.

I nod but his gaze stays fixed on mine. Gray looking into blue. I realize how close we are but I find that I can't move away. I don't want to. My eyes stay on his as if in a trance and the world seems to stop. My pulse is quickening as Gale's other hand comes up and touches my cheek. I can feel his hot breath in my face and until he leans down I realize what's happening.

I freeze not knowing what to do. Did he really want this or was it just for show? Did _I_ want this? I wasn't even sure. I can't deny that it never crossed my mind but right now as his lips draw closer to mine I am undecided. My breathing picks up and just as I decide to go for it we hear footsteps.

"Sorry for ruining such a sentimental moment," says a voice and we look up to see the boy from District 1 just a few feet away. I think he's name was Marvel or so I think.

He carries a spear in his right hand and I notice a knife in his belt. He's alone with only his weapons and a small pack. Gale looks around us and his eyes land on the bow he left by the trees just by Marvel's feet now. Gale swears under his breath but I'm already reaching for the knife in my belt. "Where's the rest of the gang?" Gale asks in a light mood and stands up.

Marvel grabs the spear tighter but smiles. "Too much tension between three, so we went on our own," he says and steps closer, "Shame though, Cato really wanted to find you."

I cringe at Cato's name and know it's true. He would have loved to find us and torture us to death, giving the audience a show. I shudder just thinking about it and Marvel notices. "I think he even had a thing for you twelve," he says with a cruel smile. I scowl at his words but inside I'm terrifies. Gale steps in front of me with the most terrifying glare that would make anyone run, but Marvel smiles even wider. "Don't like that huh? I'll just tell Cato when I kill him that she was never interested," Marvel says and attacks.

"Gale!" I yell and toss him the knife. As Marvel runs, he throws the spear straight towards Gale but he dodges out of the way. The spear sticks to a tree just behind us and Gale runs to meet Marvel with the knife ready. Marvel instantly reaches for his own knife and slams into Gale. He tries slashing at him but Gale's much quicker and seems to predict his moves. Gale slashes at Marvel's face and he yells in pain. He stammers back a bit and touches the wound on his cheek. His anger is clear in his face and spits at the ground before coming back.

As he tries to slash at Gale's face again he ducks and cuts Marvel at his thigh. Marvel's knees buckle and he falls to the ground. Just as Gale goes to give the death blow, Marvel slashes his back on the lower part of his left leg. Gale yelps in pain and I can tell it went deep. He lands on his knees in the ground in pain and I know I have to do something quickly. I look around me desperately trying to think of something when I remember the bow. If I retrieve it and give it to Gale then he can finish Marvel off. I find the vow in the same spot Gale dropped it and I start crawling to it. My ankle is killing me but my will is stronger than my fear.

A groan sounds and I look back to see as Marvel stands up and kicks Gale in the stomach throwing him backwards. Until then is that Marvel turns to me and says, "Where are you going pretty face?"

I try crawling faster but my hands barely grab the string of the bow before Marvel catches up to me and start yanking me back by my left leg. I try kicking, which almost blocks me out, but he keeps holding on. The arrows are out of my reach now but I still use the bow to thrust it into his stomach. He swears letting go of my leg and drops the knife. I start scrambling back to retrieve the arrows but Marvel's already recovered and right behind me. He's too fast and I'm still too far away to reach the arrows. I freeze as his knife comes up ready to strike.

Out of nowhere, an arm comes up and around Marvel's neck. Gale has his in a headlock and Marvel struggles to breath. I reach for the arrows again and look back to see Gale taking the knife out of Marvel's hand and pulling him to the ground.

"Gale!" I yell at him and he turns to seeing me with the bow and arrow in my hands. He knows I can't shoot and that he's the one that has to end this once and for all. He rushes over to me and grabs the weapon from my hands. He turns back to Marvel, the bow loaded and ready. Marvel sits up and stares at the arrow that is positioned directly at his forehead without fear in his face. He looks at us in defeat knowing it's over and waits for his death. Gale has an angry expression on his face, but at the same time he seems confused about what to do. I know what he's thinking and for a moment I'm afraid he won't do it, but then after a heartbeat he releases it. The arrow pierces through Marvel's head and he falls.

I stand up with difficulty and a canon fires for Marvel, signaling his death. I have my eyes trained on the dead boy but out of the corner of my eyes I see Gale mouth the words _I'm sorry. _I know how he feels but I can't make out any words to comfort him. Words would mean nothing to him at this moment anyway. I hop over to where the pack lies and strap it over my shoulders. Gale slings the arrows over his shoulder and the knife to his belt. I go over to Marvel and slowly inch his pack off him. I look over to Gale and see him examining his leg. His pants are staining with blood and I can tell he's in pain.

He looks up as I approach his but doesn't say anything. I hand him the pack and he takes it without a word. Then, I pull his arm around my shoulders so he can lean on me but he pulls back. "I'm okay. Besides, you're hurt too," he says wiping sweat from his face.

I stare at him in disbelief. "Are you serious? You look like you're about to pass out," I say and he does. He's turning really pale and when I touched his arm he was really hot, like he had a temperature. "It's not time to be brave," I say and pull on his arm again.

He sighs and sets his arm on my shoulders, one hand on the bow. I wrap my arm around his waist too just in case and we walk again from the terrible scene.

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><p><em>AN: Sorry it took longer to update and that it's such a short chapter but it's been a tough week for me. Hope you guys liked the fight scene though. I'm not the best at writing those kinds of scenes so...tell me what you though of it. I know I'm kind of teasing with the whole Gadge thing but I assure you the kiss will come, it just has to be at the right moment. _

_P.S: I don't know when I'll be posting again. My mom's in the hospital so it may be a while, please be patient._

_Thanks for reading and understanding. :)_


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters,** **Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>It wasn't long until we couldn't walk anymore. Gale's weight on me had become too much and he didn't look really good. His arm on my shoulder was really hot and he was sweating too much. I wasn't as bad as hi but not too good either. I was certain I had dislocated one of my bones on my ankle and I worried it might pop out at any moment. Other than that, I just had some bruises and scratches. I was also worried about the cut on Gale's leg. His pants were really stained from the blood that was coming out of his leg.<p>

We walked until we could and until we found another spot to build another canopy. I start helping Gale sit down on the ground but he resists. I look at him confused. "I'm going to help," he says referring to the canopy.

"No you're not," I say, gently pulling him down, "You're going to sit here and watch me do it. I'm not entirely useless, you know."

He rolls his eyes but sits down on the ground. I can tell by his expression it takes him a lot of effort just to do that. I set down my pack beside him and hand him the bottle of water. He takes it quietly and begins to drink. He really doesn't look good. I want to check his leg to see how bad the damage is but decide to build the canopy first. I suggest he eat something too but he says he isn't hungry.

I start gathering branches and putting them together between some tress for the canopy. In training I had some practice with camouflage so I wasn't having any difficulty with it. I arranged the branches so that they wouldn't stand out to human eyes and that it looked as natural as possible. As I worked I could feel Gale's eyes on my back, watching me. "You're good at this," he says in an admirable tone.

"I told you I wasn't totally useless," I say jokingly and smile back at him. He smiles too through the pain.

When I'm done, I step back to admire my work. It's almost entirely concealed by the leaves. It's not the best work but it's the best I can do. Besides, we wouldn't be able to stay up high in the trees with Gale's injury and my own. I retrieve the sleeping bag from the pack and spread it underneath the canopy for Gale. I help him up as carefully as I can but he still groans when he lifts his leg up and lays down on the bag.

"I'm going to look at you wound," I tell him.

"Try not to throw up," he says and I scowl at him.

I try to get a look through the cut in his pants but the blood around it prevents me from seeing how deep it is. I decide to clean it first and then I can bandage it up. I realize this means I have to take Gale's pants off and anxiety fills me up. "Umm… Gale could you take your pants off?" I ask and he raises an eyebrow, "To clean the wound," I add quickly, a blush immediately covering my face.

He nods with a smirk and start unbuckling his belt. I try looking anywhere but him and I have an idea. As he eases his pants off, I go over to the pack to retrieve the roll of plastic and water. When I turn back to Gale, he is easing his pants through the cut. I try to focus on the spot where his cut is not the fact that he's in his underwear.

It takes him a few minutes to get them off but he succeeds. I spread the plastic on the ground beside his leg so the sleeping bag doesn't get wet. Very slowly he moves his leg on to the plastic and I begin to pour water onto it. It's not bleeding anymore so at least that's a good sign. The blood has spread from his knee almost to his ankle. Somehow as I'm pouring the water the thought of taking a shower occurs to me. "You know I think this is the longest I've gone without showering," I say as I pour the water.

"Must be," he says, "Who would've ever thought I'd see the Mayor's daughter this dirty…and smelly."

"I don't smell!" I say defiantly and turn to see the corner of his lips turning up in a teasing smile.

"Yes you do," he says.

"No, all you can smell you here is nature and leaves and moss," I say arguing but a smile is creeping out of the corner of my lips.

He rolls his gray eyes at me. "Maybe that's all you can smell. I have better senses than you," he says in a superior tone. Now I roll my eyes but focus back to his wound.

The blood is running down in a stream of red water on his leg. The bottle is almost out when I finally clear all the blood. I prepare myself for what is to come by taking a deep breath. I open my eyes and I'm relieved to find it's not as bad as I thought it would be but it's still pretty repulsive. There's puss and blood still inside it. It's about five inches long and as I clean it with water I see it goes down to the muscle. I try not pressing to much as I clear it but Gale doesn't make a sound.

"You should see your face right now," Gale says jokingly but his face has hardened, probably preventing his from crying out.

"Shut up," I say and he smiles. "You don't look so good yourself," I tell him. He's begun to sweat again and he's still pale. If only I could get him some medicine but the only way would be for Haymitch to send us some. I reach up to touch his forehead and feel it burning up with fever. "You're burning up," I say worried now.

"I feel fine," he says and reaches up to take my hand off his forehead. Instead of dropping it, he entwines his fingers through mine. I look at him concerned but he just stares back at me calmly. I can tell he has something on his mind and somehow the way he is looking at me makes me feel self-conscious.

I think back to earlier today when he told me he couldn't take it if something happened to me and I know it's the same for me. We may have barely gotten to know each other but I know I wouldn't be able to go home without him. I've come to have deep feeling for him, although I'm not exactly sure what they are. I care about Gale, a lot, more than I should probably but I can't change how I feel.

I don't know how long we stay like that, our hands entwined and just staring at each other before I snap back to reality. "Umm… I should probably bandage the cut," I say pulling my hand away.

I look inside the pack and take out the bandages. I warp them very carefully around his leg hoping I'm not hurting him. He doesn't make a sound but he has his eyes closed with a pained expression._ I really need to get him some medicine_, I think, _at least for the fever_. Only problem is to see if Haymitch is kind enough to send us some and hope that he's sober to see what's happening. So far he's been useless to us although I'm pretty sure we have sponsors.

When I'm done, I look out and see night is upon us. The only face in the sky tonight will be Marvel but I still look to make sure. Gale hasn't told me how he felt about killing him and I plan to leave that subject up to him. If he wants to talk about it with me, he can but if not then that's okay too, I know how hard it is. I look back at him and see he's settled inside the sleeping bag. Until that moment the pain in my ankle had vanished but as I walk back to his side I wince with every step.

"How's your ankle?" Gale asks as I sit beside him.

"Okay," I say easily lying.

He doesn't buy it though and reaches for my outstretched leg. "Hey!" I protest but he just ignores me.

He examines my bandages and I notice how damp they are from the blood. I hadn't even noticed them until now. It must have been because of all the effort I took walking here. "Pass me the bandages," Gale says or mostly orders.

I hand them to him and he starts taking off the one's I have. I try to stay as quiet as I can but the pain is increasing as he unwraps the bandages. I try to focus on something else to prevent me from groaning. Instead of looking at my ankle, I find myself staring at Gale's concentrated face.

His brow is down and his eyes are narrowed, concentrated on his work. His hands are delicate and barely brush against my skin as he bandages my ankle. He's become thinner too, from the lack of food. His once big size has shrunken down and his arms have lost the defined lines of muscle he had. His hair is a bit longer but still just as black as I remember. I notice how his face is still clear and smooth although I know he should have a beard by now. _They must do something to them so there faces can be visible to everyone_, I think.

Gale looks up suddenly and I look away quickly so he doesn't notice I was staring. "All done," he says and I drop my leg.

"Thanks," I say softly and he nods, "I wish we had some medicine to at least get rid of your fever."

"I'm fine Madge," he insists, "Besides if the douche of our mentor cared he would send us some. He's probably too drunk to care."

"No," I say shaking my head, "He promised he was going to stay sober enough to help."

"And you believe him?"

"Yeah, I do," I say honestly.

"How do you know? You barely even know him," he says.

I look outside as I speak the words. "I just do. I trust him." I feel his hand grasp mine and I look up to meet his eyes. His gray eyes look almost silver as I look into them. He pulls me towards him and I comply. He pulls the sleeping bag so that we both fit and he wraps his arms around me.

It's not so cold but his body heat and closeness comforts me. I rest my head on his chest and hear the thudding of his heart. I can't believe how much time we could have spent together at home we wasted. It would have been so easy yet we were the ones that made it difficult. We could have been great friends and even more than that…

"I could get used to this," Gale whispers and I smile, "Madge?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what I said in the interview?" he asks quietly.

I groan inwardly. _Of course I remember_, I think. Hard to forget when someone declares their love to you in national television. "Which part?" I ask as if I didn't know.

"You know," he says and I can feel his eyes on top of my head.

I sigh, "Yes."

"I meant what I said."

His voice is calm but I can hear his heart suddenly thudding faster in his chest. I don't know what to do or even say. I'm not good at this, at expressing myself. I know Gale isn't either but at least he's trying. "Okay," I say softly not taking my eyes off his shirt.

"Okay?" he asks in a skeptical tone suggesting he expected more, "That's it, that's all you're going to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" I demand pulling back so I can see his face, "Anything I do say will just make it worse."

"At least something, anything would be better than just 'Okay,'" he says frustrated.

I sigh now frustrated too. Why is this so hard? "I don't know what to say…Do you want me to tell you that I care about you? Because I do. Do you want me to tell you I have feelings for you…?"

"Do you?" he asks, his eyes intense on mine.

"I-I don't know…I'm too confused," I say in a shaky voice.

Gale reaches up with both hands and cups my face. His face is only centimeters from mine that I can feel his hot breath in my face. His lips are slightly parted and his eyes are narrowed as they look into mine. I can feel heat rushing up to my face and my heart thudding loudly in my ears. There's also a slight tingle in my stomach that I can't describe. "Are you still confused?" he whispers.

"Even more," I breathe out.

His eyes are soft as he looks at me and then he leans in and kisses me. His lips are soft as they meet mine with and intensity that shocks me. I don't react for a second but then I find myself kissing his back. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His hands move from my face down to my waist, pressing me even more against his body. Even though I am practically crushed against him, it doesn't seem to be enough for either of us. My heartbeat is running like crazy as Gale deepens the kiss, my lips moving with his in intricate ways. There's a great sense of desperation and hopelessness but at the same time a lot of hunger and comfort.

We finally pull away for air, both of us breathing hard. We don't move from our positions though, my arms are still wrapped around Gale's neck and his around my waist. He leans down and rests his forehead against mine without a word. My eyes are closed and I can't think of what to say to him but he's the one that speaks up first. "Are you still confused?" he repeats in an unreadable voice.

I smile and look up at him. He has a small smile himself and his eyes shine like the moon. "No," I whisper, "But you realize you just made everything even more complicated?"

"I know," he says softly, "But I don't regret it."

I think about his words for a moment and say, "Me either,"

Just then, there's a clanking noise outside and we both look out. Gale gets up slowly and walks outside. I'm about to call him back when he appears with a parachute and a box in hand. "Looks like Haymitch got tired of being useless," he says and comes to sit beside me. When he opens the lid the first thing we find is a note.

Keep it up kids. –Haymitch

It could mean anything really but I'm not sure which meaning he wants us to get. We stare at it for a moment before Gale rips it in half. I don't know what to make of this action so I focus on what's left in the box. It's a syringe and a small vial of clear liquid. "I told you we could trust him," I say and fill up the syringe. I've had plenty of experience with needles since I'm the one at home to inject mom her medicine so I have no problem as injecting it into Gale's arm.

After that, we settle in again. We huddle together in the sleeping bag, Gale holding me close to his chest. I'm so tired I know as soon as I close my eyes I'll fall asleep. My breathing starts getting slower, and my eyes are getting drowsy. I feel as Gale's lips kiss my hair and says, "Goodnight Madge."

"Goodnight…" I say but unconsciousness pulls me under before I can finish.

* * *

><p>I am woken up by a slight shake on my shoulder. I'm still sleepy and disoriented so I don't pay attention to a the voice calling me. "Madge?" it repeats.<p>

"Umm… What?" I refuse to open my eyes yet. I'm too comfortable to move, plus it's the best sleep I've gotten in a long time. It takes me a moment to realize the voice calling me is Gale. I'm still in his arms and I can feel the rise and fall of his chest.

"I'm going hunting but I couldn't find a way to move without waking you," he says softly, his breath in my hair.

I open my eyes at his words and look up at him. "Don't go, please," I say reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck, "We have enough food for now. We can last for a while longer, don't leave me alone."

He sighs and nods. "Okay. I guess we can wait," he says plating a kiss on my forehead. A shiver runs up my spine at the touch of his lips on my head and Gale smirks. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good," I say smugly, "You?"

"One of the best nights of sleep I've gotten," he says with a small smile.

"I wonder why…"

"I've got an idea," he says, his eyes flickering to my lips for just a moment.

On impulse I lick them and stretch up to meet them with Gale's. He leans in too and kisses me very gently. His lips are warm on mine and his hands soft on my face. It's brief but very sweet. I can feel a light blush on my cheeks as Gale pulls away and smiles. "I could get used to this," I tell him with a smile of my own.

The rest of the afternoon we spend cuddled up. We eat a beef jerky each, along with a handful of berries and water to satisfy our thirst. We have four pieced of jerky left, a handful of nuts but plenty of berries. We decide to go over our supplies and see what we have. In Marvel's pack we find several knives, a flashlight, two spare spearheads, a pack of dried fruit, a bottle full of water and a first-aid kit. I curse myself for not thinking of going through it since in the first-aid kit there's a couple of fever pills along with other basic stuff. Although Gale's fever is gone, I make him take one and he insists I take one too. The pain in my ankle has reduced a little but it's still present so I agree.

I can sense Gale doesn't want to stay here in the open and I myself feel a bit exposed. In the broad of light the canopy is very easy to spot so it's better if we kept moving. We are down to six now so it won't be long before this is all over. I don't know what's going to happen but I know all I'll feel that day will be relief. Relief that I'll finally be free of this torture no matter if I end up dead. I can't change what Gale and I have now or what we are pretending to have, I'm just glad he's here by my side.

At mid-day we decide to pack up and head on. We take down the canopy too making sure the setting looks natural, like no one had been here. Gale doesn't need my support since he says he feels better but he takes hold of my hand. This simple gesture sends warmth through my whole body and a feeling of happiness engulfs me. I don't want to think of what might happen today, or in the near future, I've decided that from now on I'll just live in the present and hope for the best outcome, which for me would be Gale going home. I'm just here to help him and even though he refuses to talk about what may happen, I know my purpose.

We keep walking without problems for about an hour but I can't help feeling that it's too quiet. It won't be long before the Gamemakers do something about that. Gale suddenly stops, pulling me with him. "What?" I ask but he puts a finger to his lips and turns his head to the left. I can tell he's trying to listen to something but my ears are too dull to pick it up. Then, Gale is suddenly pulling me behind a tree, standing almost entirely in front of me with the bow loaded and ready. I have one of Marvel's knives on my belt so I reach for it.

I am able to hear something now. They are light footsteps to the other side of the tree that are coming closer. I would say it's probably a girl but I'm not sure. We are two and it's only one of them so there's no reason to be afraid, but I am. What if it's Thresh or Clove or even worse, Cato? I take a deep breath hoping they'll just pass by without stopping. The footsteps continues for a moment as we listen then they disappear. "That was-" I begin to say but a scream erupts.

It's a girls scream and it's really close by, probably the one that passed by us. The worst part is that it's coming back our way. We immediately start running. The girl keeps screaming behind us and it's becoming more difficult to run. As I trail behind Gale, he starts slowing down but not so I can catch up but because his leg can't take it anymore. "Let's climb up!" I yell to him unsure if he will agree. Luckily, he stops and looks around for a tree that can support us both. He finds an oak and rushes over to it with me right behind.

"Come on!" he says making a step with his hands to haul me up. I put my foot on his hands and he launches me up. I grab onto a long branch and haul myself up, the turn back to Gale. He's grunting as he climb by the pain he is inflicting on his legs so I reach out to him with my arms. He grabs onto me and together we manage to get him up. "Watch where I step!" he tells me and continues climbing.

We are about twenty feet up when the girl passes by and we see what's happening. I see a glint of her red hair blowing back behind her as she runs and hear the hissing of the predator. It's a huge yellow snake with amazing length and speed. It's right at her heels and although she's fast, I know she won't get away. She slips and falls to the ground, letting out one last scream before the snake attacks. Gale pulls me close and I bury my face in his chest, not wanting to think of what it's doing to her. We wait for the canon that will signal the death of the girl from District 5 and her freedom as well.

* * *

><p><em>AN: So sorry for the long wait, really sorry but I hope I make up for it with this long chapter; I think it's the longest so far. Hope you guys liked the first Gadge kiss too ;)_

_Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!_


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters used in this story. Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>As soon as the canon fired we climbed down and started walking away. I felt a little shaky from what we witnessed but Gale's hand on mine comforted me. As long as he was by my side I was okay, we were okay. The day wore on as we continued moving through the forest, keeping the mountain to our backs. We rested a couple of times to eat and check our injuries.<p>

When I changed Gale's bandages I noticed how the deep cut was now a long thin pink line. I had worried that with the climbing it would have gotten worse but it looks like the vaccine really helped seal it fast. My ankle was bothering me a little but nothing to worry about so I didn't tell Gale. We had other thinks to worry about now that it was down to five. How close we were to going home yet how far we were away.

I finish wrapping the new bandages onto Gale's leg and stand up, cleaning my hands of dirt with my pants. I stretch out my hand to him and surprisingly he takes it but instead of letting me go, he pulls me toward him. He wraps his arms around my waist and I instantly wrap my arms around his neck. Gale places his chin on top of my head and I rest mine on the crook of his neck. His breaths are soft and give me a clam and relax sensation. "I'm tired," I say without even thinking.

Gale gives a light chuckle but says, "Me too. We better find a place to camp for the night."

The sun's light was fading and soon it would be gone. "Why don't we camp in the trees?" I suggest. Seeing the snake today completely filled me with fear about staying on the ground and knowing that it still roams around makes me more nervous.

Gale pulls back to look at me, knowing that I don't like staying up in the trees but my fear must have shown because he says, "Okay, let's just keep walking until sun down."

The forest is calm and quiet as we walk. As the sun lowers on the horizon, it changes the color of our surroundings. A cool breeze blows past us and makes me shiver. I can hear some mockingjays off in the distance and some chirping bugs close by. If it weren't for the secrets it holds I would even say these woods were beautiful. At home I could see the woods from my window and I sometimes sat there thinking of what they might hold and what it would feel like being outside the district. I thought of living with no restrictions or laws to follow and being away from the cruelty I could see happen before my eyes.

As the sun sets, we start climbing a pine that stands sixty feet high. I am grateful when Gale stops on a lower branch only twenty feet up. When we are all settle inside the sleeping bag, the anthem starts to play and the fox-faced girl appears in the sky. Gale pulls me close, draping an arm around my shoulder and I rest my head on his chest. These are the moments I'm going to keep with me until the end, just us holding onto each other with nothing in our minds except the safety of the other.

Suddenly, I feel a rumble coming from Gale's chest and I realize he's chuckling. "What's so funny?" I ask looking up at him.

"I was just remembering the first time we met," he says his laughter not totally gone from his tone.

"Now that was an awkward moment," I say and rest my head back on his chest. I don't want to think of the past but it seems Gale isn't going to drop this particular subject.

"Awkward? I think it's kind of funny now," he contradicts and I'm certain he's smiling.

"Funny? Maybe for you, for me it's still an awkward memory," I tell him scowling, although he can't see my face. I cringe as I recall that day.

Katniss had noticed my love of strawberries at school since that was the only fruit I would ever eat. One day, she mentioned how she had found a bush of them in the woods and we got into the agreement that if she would pick them I would buy. Dad and mom loved them as much as I did and I was glad to be of some help to her family. I suggested she could drop them off at my house whenever she could and even though she seemed hesitant, she agreed.

It was that Sunday that she came but what surprised me most was that she wasn't alone. When I opened the door I was kind of dumbstruck and frozen as I saw him standing there beside Katniss. I had seen him a couple of times at school in the always and around town, but I never gave him much thought. Then, as I saw his bulked up figure at my door, I felt somewhat inferior to him as he watched me with his stormy eyes. Katniss was the one that spoke up first.

"Hi Madge, we came buy with the strawberries. I hope it's not too early for you," she said with a kind voice.

I quickly snapped out of my trance and smiled at her. "No, it's fine. I'm glad you came by."

She smiled a small smile, which was a rare sight, and said, "No problem," and as she gestured to her partner, "This is Gale by the way. Gale this is Madge."

Gale gave me a small nod and as I looked into his eyes I could almost see the judgment and though that were going through his mind. It was almost like he could see down to my soul. "Hi," I said shyly waving a hand to him. I was trying to act as normal as possible but his presence was making me really nervous.

"Nice house," were his first word to me. I noticed how deep and matured his voice sounded, making him seem more like an adult to me.

"Thanks," I said nervously brushing a stand of hair off my face.

I didn't know what else to say and I was grateful when Katniss spoke up after my pause. "Well, here they are," she said and handed me a bucket full of strawberries. It was until then that I first notice them and took them. I could tell they were freshly picked and were by far the biggest strawberries I had seen. I thought about how much mom would love them for desert.

"Let me go put these in the kitchen and bring the money," I told her and hurried in.

As I was coming back with the amount Katniss and I agreed on, I hear their hushed voices outside. "Why are you being so cold?" Katniss asked him.

"Why shouldn't I?" Gale snapped back.

"She's not like you think," Katniss said clearly annoyed.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like I care," he said ending their discussion.

As I thought about it, I realized his words hurt. I didn't know why but they did. If he didn't care I wouldn't either. I composed myself and started walking towards them. They were both frowning when I came into their view and looking into different directions. I kept my eyes on Katniss and tried to pretend Gale wasn't there. "Here," I said holding out the money to her.

"Thanks," she said putting the money in her pocket, "I'll see you in school Madge."

"Yeah, see you," I said with a small smile.

Gale walked away without a word and Katniss followed. I let out a sigh of relief and closed the door. From that day on I only spoke to Katniss and only sometimes did Gale speak a few words but mostly just watched me. Even at school I caught his eyes trailed on me but would quickly turn away when I saw him looking. I eventually convinced myself of one thing, Gale and I would never be friends.

"You were so…" I trail of coming back to the present. I frown trying to come up with the right word not having much success.

"So what?" he says curious.

"So…hostile and serious," I say deciding to go the honest way.

I wait for him to say something but he doesn't. I look up to his face expecting him to argue but instead find him smirking. Of course he would find this funny. "But that's how I always am, or hadn't you noticed?" he asks jokingly raising an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes at him. "Yeah, but you were more with me," I object and he snorts. "Stop laughing," I say playfully punching his arm, "I'm just trying to figure you out."

"And how's that going?" he asks leaning closer to me.

"Not so great," I say, "Back home I had this idea of who I thought you were but here…that has all been blown away."

His brow creases as he thinks about it and says, "You know, you're kind of stereotypical." He sees me glaring and adds quickly, "Okay, I am too."

"You know, I heard what you said to Katniss," I say accusingly.

"That was back then and as you said everything has been blown away... even though we're still stereotypical," he says with a smile and leans down to press his forehead against mine and I close my eyes, "I guess that's why we're good together."

I feel his lips brush against mine for a moment and just as I'm about to kiss him back he pulls away. I open my eyes and look at him annoyed. "You're teasing me."

He leans in again but I only receive a quick peck. When he pulls back he's smiling. "Guess I am."

He hugs me tightly and I mold my body at his side so it fits next to his and so I'm comfortable enough to sleep. Although I'm somewhat comfortable, I'm still a little afraid I'll fall to the ground during the night. I remember how the first night I spent on a tree I stayed up all night to make sure I wouldn't fall until I was pulled into unconsciousness without knowing. When I mention this to Gale he has an idea. He removes his belt from this waist and wraps it around the tree and me. "What about you?" I ask

"I'm going to take watch for a while. Besides I'm already used to it," he says and after a moments adds jokingly, "You can hold on to me if you're still scared."

"Don't mind if I do," I reply closing my eyes, already drifting off.

* * *

><p>The next morning we take off early so Gale can hunt. He walks a few paces in front of me and I give him his space. I know I need to be quiet so I won't scare off game so I walk slowly behind him. Every several feet he glances back to make sure I'm still there and I roll my eyes at him. "Where am I going to go?" I tell him to show him it's unnecessary and so he can focus.<p>

After about half an hour we find a flock of birds perched up in the trees. Gale positions himself, making no sound to disturb them and strings the bow. As I watched I couldn't help feel entangled by the sight of him and admired how graceful and natural he looked. The birds were big and fat, almost looked like turkeys but not like any bird I had ever seen and to my surprise neither did Gale recognize them. He shot two of them and we stopped to rest and he started plucking them. I sat on the floor, my back to a tree trunk and lost myself in my thoughts.

What are we doing? I keep thinking. I know this is just going to blow up in our faces when we find ourselves face to face at the final two. It would have been better if we weren't allies; it'll just end up hurting us both in the end. I can't even tell if what we have is real or not. All I know is that every time Gale looks at me or even touches me, my stomach flutters uncontrollably and I feel light headed. I feel safe when I am in his arms and desired every time he kisses me. I feel loved. There's no other way to describe it.

I think back to the girl and boy back home that barely spoke to each other and almost laugh. How far we have come from then and to think it all started because of some strawberries. Some strawberries that came to represent more than just a fruit, they were a connection to Gale. A connection that we barely came to realize existed.

"What are you thinking about?" Gale asks bringing me back to reality. He has finished plucking the bird and has wrapped them in plastic, putting them inside the pack.

"Strawberries," I say with a small smile.

His face mirrors mine and he come to my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I lean into his side and sigh. "I miss that."

"Where do you think we would be if this hadn't happened?" he asks in a thoughtful voice.

"Probably the same place as always, living our own lives and never making any attempt at becoming friends," I say knowing it was true. Although I would try to talk to him, I'm certain he wouldn't do the same. He would keep treating me coldly and seeing me only as the Mayor's daughter.

Gale's silence lets me know he thinks the same. "Would you have preferred it that way? That this never happened?"

I can't tell if he means us or just being here in the Games. If we hadn't been we chosen would be safely at home but I wouldn't be feeling what I'm feeling right now with him. But wouldn't that be better than being here, fighting for our lives? I can't say. "I don't know," I say honestly, staring at the ground to hide my face.

He stays silent and I know he's waiting me to say something more or explain myself but I don't. After a couple of minutes he hugs my shoulders and says, "That's okay, I don't know either."

We stay seated getting the rest I so much craved. Gale moves closer to me and rests his cheek on top of my head. His breathing is slow and even making me think he's falling asleep. I keep my eyes trained on the woods just in case and listen to the sounds around us. Gale's breathing is the loudest since it's right by my ear but if I pay close attention I can hear the mockingjays and some other animals. Leaves rustle as a breeze passes by and causes some to fall down to the ground. I look down on my shirt and find the pin attached and safe. I start tracing the ring around it and imagine Maysilee doing the same when she was in my spot.

Suddenly, there's a sound of trumpets echoing, which causes Gale to spring up and look around bewildered. I stand up too and wait in anticipation. Claudius Templesmith's voice booms down saying, "Congratulations to our five remaining tributes! I would like to inform you of a rule change in the Games! Under the new rule, both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two to remain!" He pauses and repeats it again to make sure we got it and then bids us goodbye when his finished.

I stand there dumfounded until the news sink in and then Gale has me in his arms and is swinging me around in a circle, laughing. I am laughing too, holding on to him tightly not believing what I just heard. He sets me down and crashes his lips to mine with so much passion I feel my knees might buckle beneath me. At that moment nothing else existed but us and the overwhelming feeling of happiness that was engulfing us.

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><p><em>AN: I'm sorry again, really I am! So nothing much happened in this chapter but sometimes there are some like that. I hope you guys enjoyed some of the Gadge. I really want their relationship to be different than Peeta's and Katniss's in the Games. Some more action coming up on the next chapter, I promise._

_Thanks for reading and Please REVIEW!_


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>We can both go home. This thought repeats itself in my mind for a while. We can't keep still so we decide to continue on walking. There is a new stride to our walk as we move forward. I know our hiding will eventually have to stop and that will be sooner now. I realized immediately that the new rule also applies to Cato and his district partner Clove. Then, there's Thresh. I don't think it matter to him if we all die, he'll just end up winning alone. If he dies, Gale and I will be face to face with Cato and Clove to fight for our lives. In truth, I don't want Thresh to die and if we do, than I would want him to win.<p>

As we walk, Gale puts his arm around my shoulders and I put mine around his waist. His leg is almost completely healed and my ankle has stopped aching. The day wears on and at some point my stomach starts growling. A flush covers my face with embarrassment and Gale stops smiling at me. "Let's eat before anyone hears us," he says and opens up the pack.

He takes out the birds pieces he wrapped in plastic and I look at him questionably. "How are we going to cook it?"

"With fire," he says easily.

"But wouldn't it give us away? I mean, with the smoke the others could spot us easily," I say nervously as he begins to collect wood.

"Yeah but think about it. We are approximately a whole day journey from the mountain and lake. Do you think any of them would come this far?" he says as he pulls a small branch from a tree.

"I guess not," I say a bit less worried now. "Do you think Cato and Clove would have reunited by now?"

He starts setting the wood down and digging in the ground. "Probably. Their camp was by the lake so they must have gone there to find each other again."

He's probably right. I wonder if Cato would have preferred going home a victor alone and not have to share the "glory" if he won. Most likely, but then again maybe not. I couldn't really make those assumptions without knowing him. Maybe he and Clove are friends. Maybe he prefers to have someone by his side to help him get home while benefiting them both. I can't help keep thinking of Cato as the villain and maybe he is. He won't stop at anything to get home. He will kill anyone he needs to achieve this. But I wonder what made him volunteer in the first place. Was it really for the fame and glory that comes with winning or something else?

I shake my head to clear it, reminding myself that I shouldn't care. If I want to go home with Gale everyone else will have to die. It sounds cruel but it's the reality and I have to learn to accept it once and for all. "Where do you think Thresh is at?" I ask.

"The woods most likely," he says.

I nod thinking the same. There's a spark as Gale conjures a fire. I sit by his side as he cooks the meat. We eat the bird in a comfortable silence as our stomach's fill up. The fresh meat tastes so good my mouth is watering. We eat half of one bird and the rest we wrap in plastic for later. As he predicted, no one shows up. We put out the fire and do the best we can to make sure it's not too noticeable. We find another berry bush and pick some to eat as we continue walking.

Night is soon upon us once again and we camp up on a tree. We get comfortable under the sleeping bag and listen to the anthem play. There's nothing up on the sky tonight except the moon and the stars. I can see them through some branches and see it's a half moon tonight. It's so beautiful I almost think it's real and maybe it is but I can't tell.

"Do you think they'll come for us first?" I whisper to Gale, my head resting on his shoulder.

"Let's not think of that tonight, okay?" he says in a gentle voice as if he were talking to a small child.

"Okay," I say closing my eyes. Instead, I think of home. I think of dad who is probably working. I wonder if he watches or even has the time to watch the Games. Mom is in no condition to watch them and it would only make it worse for her health. I can't help feeling guilty knowing it's causing her pain knowing I'm in here. I know Judith will be updating her on how I'm doing and hopefully help her through this. Judith works for us but she's almost like a second mom to me. She's taken care of me ever since I was born and has become much more than just a nanny to me. I think of my piano in the living room, probably sitting there untouched and getting dusty. "I miss my piano," I whisper out of the blue.

Gale gives a small chuckle. "I heard you play once you know. It was a small piece, it sounded like a lullaby," he says and I know immediately which one he means.

"It must have been the lullaby my dad first taught me," I say remembering the soft, sweet melody.

"Maybe once we get back, you could play it for me," he says and I smile at his words. He sees my grin and asks, "What?"

"You said once we get back, not if we get back," I say still smiling.

"Because we will," he says and I feel as he presses a kiss to the top of my head. "So about that song?"

"Umm…I don't think so," I say firmly.

"Why not?" he asks, clearly surprised by my answer.

"I don't really like playing in front of people," I tell him honestly. I get really nervous for some reason and I've only really played in front of dad and sometimes for mom.

"There's always a first," he says and places a finger on my chin to look up to him. He leans down to give me a small peck.

"That's not going to work," I whisper as his lips meet mine again.

Gale continues to give me light kisses, making my skin tingle and make me feel light headed. His lips kiss my hair, my forehead, my cheeks, the line at my jaw, and my lips. Very slowly I lose myself in his kisses. He knows he has this effect on me, that's why he does it. "Please?" he pleads once again.

"We'll see," I say feeling somewhat hopeful that it could happen, that we could win and go home and I could play something for him. I can see it now very clearly in my head but it also feels like a faraway dream that could never happen.

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><p>The sound of a canon reaches my ears, waking me from my slumber. My body is unsteady as I open my eyes and I feel as I roll off the right. I give a scream knowing I'm going down.<p>

"Madge!" Gale's voice screams and I feel his strong arms grasping me by the waist and pulling me back onto the branch.

My heart is thudding loudly in my ears and my stomach is threatening to bring up the food we had yesterday. I stare with wide eyes below me to the ground and inwardly curse for forgetting to belt myself in. Gale looks at me concerned. "Are you okay?" he asks but I have other thought on my mind now.

"Who do you think it was?" I say instead. As I look at the sun, I see it's barely day break. Whoever did must have been killed early in the morning. But who?

"It's hard to tell," Gale says serious, "If Cato and Clove are together they could have taken Thresh but he could have killed one of them too."

It's true, Cato and Clove are stronger together and would match up to Thresh but separate he could finish them off. Clove is so small compared to him and would be easy for him to kill. Cato is another story. He is almost as big as Thresh and just as bulked up. I'm not sure what would happen if they came face to face. "Do you think it's time we got into the game?" I say trying to hide the nervousness I'm feeling.

"I think it's better we decide before the Gamemakers make that decision for us," he says looking toward the sky.

"Are you ready?" I ask him in a small voice.

He keeps staring at the sky above us but eventually meets my eyes. "I'm ready to go home," he says with determination, "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I say with a hollowness to my voice. There's noting that could prepare us for this. All we have are our weapons and knowledge to help us, it's our job to use them wisely.

He nods and pulls me into a hug. My head rests on his chest where I can hear his heart. "Soon Madge, soon this will all be over," he whispers and I feel as he gives a sigh.

We pull away and start heading down to the ground. We eat the rest of one bird and drink plenty of water. We have everything packed and our weapons ready. Gale has the bow on hand and eleven arrows in the quiver slung over his shoulder. I have taken the knives we retrieved from Marvel and put them inside my jacket and one on my belt. It feels as if this is going to be the last peaceful moment we will have until the end, which seems to be around the corner. Gale must have sensed this too because he pulls me towards him once again, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I wrap my own around his waist and we just stand there, holding onto each other.

He's the only thing that keeps me grounded now, the only thing that makes me want to keep fighting. But it's until now that I realize what I'm truly fighting for. Not only am I fighting to keep us alive but for justice too. Justice for what they did to Rue, to all of those who have died when they have done nothing wrong. Knowing and experiencing this has totally changed my perspective of our world and just thinking that others may have to go through this is just unbearable. I couldn't and wouldn't go on living my life knowing how traumatic the Games were and just shrug it off like it's nothing, because it's not.

I look up at Gale and his gray eyes find my blue. He leans down and our lips barely brush against each other but the emotions it transmits are so strong it makes it the most memorable so far. I can tell it's not for the audience but for us, a just in case. As if in agreement we pull away and start heading towards the mountain.

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><p>"By the time we get there, it'll be night," I say trailing behind Gale. We've been walking for hours but the mountain still seems just as far away as before. The only time we stopped was to drink water and that was miles ago.<p>

"Then let's hurry," he says stepping up his pace, almost jogging now.

I know that if I complain he's going to start snapping at me so I keep my mouth shut. I've learned enough of Gale to understand he's just as anxious as I am. We just want this over with, the faster the better.

It is until the afternoon that we get a full rest. My shirt is drenched with sweat and some pain has returned to my ankle. I don't know how long I can keep going without collapsing. My tongue feels like sandpaper so I take out the water bottle and drink until I'm satisfied. Gale and I sit on the ground, catching our breath and trying to preserve energy. We don't talk though. There'll be plenty of time to talk at home if we make it. _I wonder how they're doing back home_, I think lazily.

A stampede of feet break my thoughts. Gale and I spring up immediately and watch as the animals flee from the wall of fire coming directly our way. It's my worst nightmare coming alive. Gale pulls me by the arm as my fear kicks in and we run. Gale leads me behind the animals but as the smoke increases if gets harder to see and breath. The flames are everywhere I look, breaking tree branches and destroying everything in their path. I begin tripping over my feet as the smoke covers my vision and soon I start coughing.

I trail behind Gale, running as fast as I can and I know he's making an effort to keep pace with me and not leave me behind. The heat increases making me feel light headed and my coughing begins to worsen. I feel a lump in my throat and know that the only food I have is threatening to come up. Soon my throat and nose are burning, almost suffocating me. The flames are descending on us and I want to yell to Gale to run ahead but I can't by the pain increasing in my chest.

I know this is probably the work of the Gamemakers. They must be leading us to the others and what more fun way than with fire. We are in fact the boy and girl on fire, now literally. I guess we had this coming but I won't blame Cinna and Portia for giving them the idea. _Stupid Gamemakers_, I think. They're probably laughing their asses off right now.

It is until I feel the heat on my back that I see my hood in flames. With a shriek I take it off and start stomping on it to get rid of the flames. "Madge!" Gale yells when he notices I'm no longer following.

"Just go!" I manage to choke out, still stomping on the jacket.

Of course he doesn't listen. Instead, he runs to me and starts dragging me behind him. "Leave it!" he barks at me.

I let it go then, holding on to my pack and letting him guide us. The animals are nowhere in sight now. They're much faster than us and have left us behind. My ankle is burning from pain as we run and I have to look down to make sure it's not on fire. The lump in my throat grows and I know I'm about to hurl. I stop once again and all the food contents in my stomach come up and out. I fall to my knees, vomiting until there's nothing left to come out. I look up and see Gale a few feet away in my same position. I'm trembling and dizzy, with only a small amount of energy left to continue. I know we need to move but I can't find the will to get up.

My ears register a sudden hissing noise. Immediately after, a fireball land to my right, setting a tree on fire. The hissing repeats and a second fireball hits just a few feet from Gale. I barely get to my feet when another land right where I was lying. Gale rushes to his feet and we start running again. The smoke and heat have clouded my thoughts, now all I do is act. I leap and dodge always making sure Gale is in my eyesight. I can't lose him, not now. We zigzag through the forest, pushing through the pain.

What fun are the Gamemakers and audience now. Any hit could kill us now but I doubt that's their intention. This is just the pre-show to the final face-off; it's just to drive us together. But couldn't they do it another way? I mean, yes I want this to be over with but by the time they say it's enough, I'm sure to pass out. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope that they decide to let us live for a while longer.

There's a loud crack as a fireball hits a tree and then a huge branch is falling right in front of me, causing me to trip backwards. I don't have the energy to get up but I don't want to die like this, to me it would be the worst kind of death; being burned alive. Going forward is not an option anymore so I hurry to get up and move to the left. I look around me and all I see is fire and smoke. _Where's Gale?_ I think desperately, _I couldn't have lost him_. I rush forward panicking now. The fireballs seemed to have stopped but the fire keeps burning. "Gale!" I yell out as I run but receive no answer. "Gale!" I cry out once again tears dripping from my eyes.

"Madge!" Gale's voice rings out above all the sounds in the forest.

His voice came from my right but I can't spot him through all the smoke. I run towards his voice, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of him. Relief floods through me when I see the top of his head behind a bolder. "Gale?" I go to his side and kneel beside him. Sweat is pouring from his forehead and his face is set in a painful expression. My eyes land on one of his legs and notice that a piece of fabric has been ripped from his pants. Beneath it is a burned area of skin. I look away quickly trying to control my face expressions. "What happened?" I choke out looking at his face.

"Fireball hit me," he says in a barely audible voice, his eyes closed.

I reach for my pack and take out the water bottle. "Here, drink," I say handing him the bottle with my trembling hands. He obeys and I look around to see the attack has stopped completely, only the smoke remains in the air. I see all the fallen branches and ash lying around us, making the world even darker. As I look towards the sky a sudden dread comes over me at the sight I find. We have come farther than I would have thought, much farther. We have come exactly where they want us, at the base of the mountain.

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><p><em>AN: So here is the next chapter, how'd you like it? Thoughts, comments? This is the beginning of the end so there'll be only a few chapters left. Thanks for reading and you know...REVIEW! :)_


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.**

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><p>"This is not good," I whisper as I look upon the enormous figure of the mountain. It looks like today is the day we will know our fate.<p>

"Of course not, just look at it," Gale says and I look at him confused.

He's looking down at his burn with disgust and pain. For a moment I think of going along with him and not telling him of where we are so we'll get the whole night to rest but we're supposed to be a team and we should decide together. "Yeah that looks really bad," I say honestly, "But I was referring to that." I point at the mountain that has become more visible as the smoke clears.

He looks at where I'm pointing, a series of expressions appearing on his face. First is confusion, then fear, and last realization. I reach down and grab his hand, entwining my fingers through his. His eyes scan my face as if memorizing every single detail of it and his other hand reaches to cup my cheek. I lean into his touch and look at him, trying to figure what he's thinking but all I find is a blank expression.

We could both be dead in a matter of hour or going home which for me would be the best outcome because if I lost him, I wouldn't be able to move on with my life, not really. I would keep holding onto these memories and never letting them go. I would be living but without a life. "Gale…" I start without really knowing what to say.

"Don't," he says firmly, putting a finger to my lips, "Don't say anything you wouldn't if we weren't about to die."

I nod and look down. His burn really does look bad, and I have no idea what to do about it. I look through the first-aid kit but find nothing for burns. _How convenient_, I think. I decide to just pour water on it from the bottle to see if the pain goes down and then…we'll just see. My bottle is almost dry and so is Gale's. I'm going to have to use if efficiently so that some remains until tomorrow. The sun hasn't gone down yet but it's on the verge.

I lay plastic under his leg and start pouring a small amount of water on his leg. As soon as the water touches Gale's skin, his face relaxes. There is no blackened skin, so that's a good sing. It is a bright red color and it's filled with blisters. I continue on pouring a light stream of water, watching as some of the pain eases off his features. We're going to need something more for his burn and especially if we intend to fight. I don't even know if Gale is able to walk and I'm afraid to ask.

"Maybe we should wait until tomorrow," I tell Gale, "That way some of the pain will be gone." Soon it will be dark and that would be the worst time for a confrontation. There's also a part of me that is scared for what is to come and wants to put it off for as long as possible.

I can see his eyes searching my face and I'm positive he sees my fear. He looks me right in the eyes but says gently, "We have to stop hiding."

I know he's right. We've done enough hiding, now is the time to fight back. But the fighting part is the one that scares me most of all. "Okay," I say trying to keep any emotions from my voice. I don't know how we're going to do it but we will, I won't lose hope.

I look towards the sky, somehow hoping I could get an answer from above, when I spot something. It looks like paper but as it comes down I realize what it is, it's a parachute. Haymitch! I knew we could count on him. I watch as the parachute sails down when Gale speaks up. "It's that…" he says, his eyes on it as it comes lower.

"Yeah," I say, standing up. I stretch up and grab it from the air. Quickly, I open it and take out the contents. It's a small tube and as I read the label, my face lights up. "Burn ointment," I read. I look back towards Gale and see he has a smile on his face as well. "Thank you Haymitch," I say looking towards the sky above us. No matter what happens, at least we know he tried to help us and that's all that matters. We will owe him for the rest of our lives.

"Guess you were right about him after all," Gale says with a thoughtful expression.

I remove the lid and move towards Gale's side. As soon as my fingertips touch the cream, my hands stop shaking. Very gently, I apply a layer of it to Gale's leg. He gasps when it touches his skin but then sighs as it takes effect. I rub it gently trying to cover every burned spot I find and watch as the pain completely disappears from Gale's features. He closes his eyes and I begin applying some of the ointment to my own burns. There's an instant cooling sensation that eases and erases all the pain. The only part that keeps bothering me is my ankle. I don't think it's broken, it just aches and itches. I close my eyes too, taking in the fresh that has appeared and brushes past us.

We stay that way for a few moments and when I open my eyes I find Gale looking at me. His face reveals no emotion and neither does his voice when he speaks. "It's time."

I sigh, wishing I had the power to object. "Let's get this over with then."

As we stand up, I draw out the knife I have kept on my belt. I only managed to get two when I lost the jacket; the other one is inside my boot. I look at the shiny blade and wish it wouldn't have to get stained with blood. I turn to Gale and see he has the bow loaded and ready. The only think that comforts me is the good amount of arrows he has left in the quiver. Together we may just win this, but that's just my wishful thinking.

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><p>It doesn't take long before we find the clearing. Unexpectedly so, it's deserted. To my further discomfort, the sun has now gone down. The only light is from the moon and it's reflection off the lake's surface. Gale and I move slowly towards the lake and refill our bottles. We have our eyes alert and our backs to each other in case they come from different sides. I start getting tired of standing but resist the urge to sit down on the ground.<p>

"Nothing," Gale asks behind me.

"Nothing," I confirm then jump suddenly when the anthem booms through the speakers. Who will it be? I think. I am not prepared when Thresh's face is the one that shows up. As I come to the decision of sitting down, there's a crashing noise in the trees where I'm looking.

It's Clove who appears knife in hand and charging towards me. As soon as she appeared I had my own knife ready and launched it with blazing speed towards her forehead. I may not be as experiences with the knives as she is but I was certain that would have been a perfect hit. Would have because out of nowhere she took out a shield and the knife bounced off. Where the heck did she get that? I'm not sure if she could have gotten that from the cornucopia, which is now empty. One of Gale's arrows goes flying towards her but she dodges it too.

I take out the only other knife from my boot and prepare myself for when she crashes into me. Before she even touches us, there's a groan from behind me which I identify is from Gale and a laugh that chills me to the bone to be Cato. To my mistake, I look back and see as he tackles Gale to the ground and they start fighting but I don't pay attention to when Clove crashes into me. She thrusts the shield roughly at my chest, sending me backwards and onto the ground.

She's a bit bigger than me, but to my advantage she has her hands full. On one hand, she has the big heavy shield and on the other the long knife. Behind us I hear Gale and Cato struggling. I can only hope Gale can handle him until I'm able to help him. I know I should have more confidence in him but Cato is a killing machine. I just have to finish off Clove, somehow…

She tries pinning me down but without he hands it's impossible for her. Instead, with an evil smile on her face, she bangs the shield against my chest. I refuse to give any cry other than a small moan. I slash at her face with my knife and leave a long cut down her cheek. She touches it in disbelief and when she removes it, her fingers are stained red. "You little," she snarls and digs her knife onto my arm.

I yell as her knife sinks into my skin and as the pain registers. She brings the knife back up and just as she's going to strike again, I bang my head against hers. This time, she falls backwards and in the process let's go of the shield to touch her head. This is my chance, I think. I tackle her to the ground and force the knife out of her hand. It's difficult though, she has a strong hold on it but I manage to do it and send it off to the side and out of her reach. Before she can reach for another on inside her jacket, I pin her wrists into the ground. I don't know how long I can hold her down so if I have to finish this, now is the time.

As I look upon her face I don't detect any fear, instead I find a questioning look. "Are you going to do it twelve? Are you going to kill me?" she asks clearly disbelieving it.

I don't respond, mostly because I don't even believe it myself. I have to make up my mind now before it's too late. _What is there to make up? Don't think, just do_, my inside voice tells me. It's too late, just as I'm about to strike, Clove brings up one of her legs and kicks me in the stomach. I groan as I'm thrown on the ground once again. My head hits the ground with a loud thud and for a moment I'm blind. My vision is clouded by black spots and I feel dizzy. An immense amount of pain comes from the back of my head and I'm not certain of what I see. Luckily, I've managed to keep my grip on the knife. I hide it under my back hoping Clove doesn't see it.

As my vision returns, I can make out the figure that is Clove. She has retrieved the knife and is coming my way again. My strength has completely vanished and I can't find a way to get up. I begin coughing and blood comes out of my mouth. I feel as Clove's weight comes over me again but I can barely make out her features. "I knew you didn't have the guts. Shame your pretty face will be ruined," she says with her signature smile, "Unfortunately, I don't have much time. I'm going to help Cato finish your little boyfriend."

Fury flares through me and with the last of my strength, I plunge the knife into her stomach. She gasps and fails to grasp air. Her own knife falls to the ground and her body collapses on top of me. I can feel her breathing slowing down and know it was a death blow. Very gently, I roll her off me and extract the knife. I look at the bloody blade for a second before sending it flying towards the trees. All I want to do is lay here and never get up, but I know I have to help Gale. I can no longer hear him or Cato. Very slowly, I prompt myself into a sitting position and look around. They are nowhere in sight.

The pain in my arm is becoming excruciating and blood is falling from it like a waterfall. I rip part of my shirt and tie it over the injury, hoping it's enough for now. Clove lays beside me with her eyes closed and slow breathing. I can't imagine the pain she is in now and knowing I'm the cause of it makes it harder to watch. I see as her breaths become even more distant and until she takes her last one. A canon fires off in the distance indicating her death. I give a sigh that sounds more like a sob and get up, picking up Clove's own knife.

There are cries in the woods that I guess are from Gale and Cato. They will be coming to see who is dead, forgetting about their own fight. Cato is the one who crashes through the trees first. "Clove!" he calls but then sees her form on the ground. "No,no,no!" he repeats, his voice breaking and guilt floods through me. It's only for a moment but I see Cato's hard mask disappear and show a broken boy. _He did_ _care about her_, I think. It's clear on his face but as he sees me standing there his expression turns to anger, revenge. "You," he whispers and even across the thirty feet between us I hear that word loud and clear.

Extreme fear consumes me as he starts running towards me, sword in hand. It takes me a moment to remember I'm not totally defenseless and that I have a knife on my hand. With all the force I have left, I send it flying at his chest. Unfortunately, he is able to predict its course and knocks it off with his sword. Great, the only one I had left. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, I tell myself. I need protection and fast. If he jumps me I'm definitely dead. _The shield!_ I remember suddenly. How did I forget? I look around me and spot it only ten feet away. I get to it just in time before Cato's pouncing on me. _Where's Gale?_ I keep thinking. Cato slashes at me countless times but I manage to deflect his hits. I stumble backwards to the lake as he gets closer. The shield is massive and heavier than I had thought; my arm is already getting tired of holding it up. Cato is full of rage and all is mind is set on this moment is killing me.

It's not long before my other arm gives up as well and let's go of the shield. I bury my fear deep inside and instead look at him with defiance. "Well, well. Looks like your time is up," he says but I can tell he isn't going to kill me fast, he'll want me to suffer as he is suffering now.

"Your time will come soon enough as well," I tell him in a hollow voice. As long as we are talking, I'm not dead and Gale has time to get here. I wonder if he's so injured he can't even get up. _No. He'll come, he_ _will_, I think.

"I don't think so. As soon as I'm done with you, I'll go back for your boyfriend and I'll be free to go home," he says, his malicious smile appearing on his face.

"That's exactly what Clove said," I say and watch as his smile disappears, "Look at her now." I know I'm pushing my luck but as long as I give Gale more time, I'll take anything.

Cato's face falls completely and I know that was a low blow. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that. I barely have time to blink before he strides over to me and holds me up in the air by the neck. My hands immediately go try to get his hand off my neck but it's useless, he's stronger and I'm exhausted. His eyes shine with anger and sweat pours down his forehead. Slowly I begin to lose the ability to grasp air. "All of this," I choke out in my last attempt to distract him, "Will come back… to haunt you."

He seems caught off guard and for a moment his grip loosens. "Perhaps," he says is eyes far away, "But I won't regret any of it."

His once sky blue eyes have turned as dark as the night and I know he's about to strike. "You don't want to do this!" I shout, my fear finally breaking its walls as I watch him raise his sword.

"You don't know what I want!" he yells, "I want this over with, I want to honor Clove's memory, I want revenge… and I want to go home."

I am out of air but it doesn't matter anymore. Cato raises his sword higher and I close my eyes, tears slipping out of the corners. I wait for the blow but instead I hear Cato gasp. I open my eyes just as he drops me to the ground. I look up at him confused but then he's falling. Quickly, I scramble backwards just in time before he crushes me with his weight and that's when I see it, an arrow. _Gale_. I look up from Cato and spot him at the edge of the clearing and on the verge of collapse. A canon fires and I run to Gale. We crash into each other and fall to the ground in each other's arms.

He's not in a good condition but I'm just so happy he's alive. "We won," I whisper to him, unable to contain my tears.

"Who would have thought?" he jokes but there's no emotion to his voice.

His face is the last thing I see before the world goes dark.

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><p><em>AN: I know, I know. It's kind of a cliffy but you'll just have to wait to find out what happens. It was really hard writing this chapter for me because I had many ideas of how I wanted it to go but I think I'm okay with the result. I hope it wasn't to low key or boring and if it is...sorry. I think there'll only be two chapters more so stay tuned._

_Thanks again for reading and let me know your thoughts. :)_


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of the character, but I'm most positively sure you already knew that.**

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><p>When I wake up, all I see is white. For some reason the first thought that comes to my mind is heaven. I'm dead. But why would I be in heaven? I killed two people. I deserve to be in hell. It doesn't feel like heaven though. I am in a robe, naked and when I move my arm I find tubes attached to it. As I look down at my arm, I notice how all the scratches and bruises are gone. <em>Am I dead?<em> I'm not certain anymore. I look around and notice I'm alone, surrounded by white walls. Other than the bed I'm in, there's only a bedside table. I try to move but there's a strap over my waist that prevents me from getting up. I struggle with it, desperately trying to get out.

I call for the only person I can think of right now, "Gale?" Suddenly, out of one of the walls, an invisible door opens and Haymitch steps through, a tray in his hands. "Haymitch?" I ask in disbelief. He looks tired and has grown a beard since the last time I saw him.

"How are you doing Princess?" he says, setting down the tray on top of the table. To my surprise, he sits on the edge of the bed and pulls me in for a hug.

I hug him back fiercely, trying to make sense of what's going on and the fact that he's here. Tears start running down my cheeks and he strokes my hair. "I missed you," I whisper to him, trying to hide the shake in my voice.

"I missed you too sweetheart," he tells me quietly. He seems to be struggling with his emotions too because he's hiding his face and doesn't let go for a while. I never realized how much I missed stupid nicknames and annoying comments.

"What happened?" I ask when we finally pull away.

His face turns into a hard, painful expression. "Do you want the long version or short?" He sees my confused expression and sighs. "Look kid, there's not much time. You need to start getting ready for your grand coronation." I frown even deeper, unsure of what to make of his words. "You won kiddo, believe it or not you did."

I looked at him like he's crazy. "What? You're not making sense…" I say, biting my lip when another thought comes to mind, "Where's Gale anyway? Is he okay?" I start to struggle with the strap again but Haymitch's hand stops me.

"Yes, he's fine," he says rolling his eyes, "But you can't see him right now."

"Why not?" I demand with a voice much louder than I intended.

Haymitch frowns at me. "Well, for starters, you look like a maniac who is about to attack someone. You need to calm down and second, they want your reunion to appear on live television," he says and rolls his eyes.

"When is that," I ask impatiently. I'm not going to believe Gale is okay until I see him for myself. He looked so broken and unhealthy in the arena that it worries me.

He sighs and gets up. "Tonight. Cinna is going to come to get you ready. Don't kill anyone," he says and exist the door before I can ask anything else.

For the rest of the time, I fiddle with my hands, waiting for Cinna to come. I examine my skin, running my fingers over the invisible scars that are no longer there. There are other scars thought, that run deep inside me and that I'll have to have for the rest of my life. I still can't process the fact that Gale and I won. _Gale and I won_. It truly seemed impossible but here I am, and somewhere in another room is Gale. I need to know he's okay and the only way is to see him with my own eyes, so I'll have to be patient until tonight.

After hours of waiting, once again an invisible door in the wall opens and an Avox comes through followed by Cinna. "Cinna!" I exclaim, wanting to jump out and hug him but the strap holds me down. He watches me but stands to the side while the Avox removes the tubes attached to my arm and the strap. As soon as I'm free I jump out without thinking and onto Cinna's arms. I guess he was expecting this because he doesn't stumble back when I crash into him. I didn't think how my feet would feel when I jumped out but right now they seem steady and firm on the ground. Cinna holds me close for a few moments without saying anything and when he releases me, he holds my face in his hands. "I knew you could do it Girl on Fire."

I smile my biggest smile at him. "Thanks Cinna, I missed you," I respond.

"No more than I did. Now, come on we have to get you ready for the interviews," he says and takes one of my hands and leads me out of the room.

We pass through corridors and the familiarity of it allows me to recognize that we are in the training center, only in a different section. I can't help glancing around trying to see if I can spot Gale anywhere. I'm so anxious to see him and I also have so many questions but I know it'll have to wait.

We enter into a sitting room where I'll be getting ready and Cinna makes me sit down on a table. He sits on the opposite end and pushes a button which makes the table open up in the middle and food appears.

"Uh," I say looking at my plate; a bowl of broth, a small piece of bread and a glass of water.

Cinna must have known what I was thinking because he speaks up. "They don't want to overwhelm you with food; it might come back up when you're on stage."

I nod understandingly and dig in. It is the first hot plate of food I've had in weeks and it tastes so good in my mouth, that I almost inhale it all. For the first time in my life I finally realize how valuable food is how grateful I should be for having a simple plate of food in front of me every day when others have to suffer just to obtain a small loaf of bread.

When I finish, I look up to see Cinna studying me. "How do you feel?" he asks in a hesitant voice.

I take a minute to answer. "Full," I say and at least that's not a lie. I know that wasn't what he was asking but that's all I can express at the moment. He nods without pushing the subject and I am grateful for it. If anything good came out of coming here, it was meeting Cinna. I know I can trust him and confide in him but my head is so full of thoughts I can't even tell how I feel at this moment.

Suddenly, the door bursts open and in come in Venia, Flavius and Octavia. I'm surprised when they embrace me so enthusiastically when they see me. They tell me how glad they are that I won and how it's their honor being the stylists of a winning tribute. I smile realizing they are being genuine about seeing me again. It is a few minutes before they stop congratulating me and Cinna goes off to get my dress. Before he leaves, he grabs my hand in his and gives it a squeeze. His small smile reflects his own happiness that my team's words could not.

I sit down and as my team gets me ready we go back to the routine of before. They chatter and gossip as they work only needing me to give small responses back and I feel content knowing that at least some things haven't changed. Of course, I'm deluding myself and for now that seem like a good idea. For this occasion, they have used a minimal amount of makeup and they've let my blond hair loose on my back. Cinna come in when they're done with my dress. I'm surprised to find that he's chosen a very simple but beautiful yellow dress. It's more of my style but I would have expected something more extravagant.

"I think the audience will like this better," he says when he sees my perplexed expression.

There is another meaning behind his words but I don't question him. He helps me into the dress and within a few minutes, I'm ready to go. I'm not prepared to face the crowd but I'm nervous and excited to finally see Gale. In the last moment Cinna takes something out of his pocket and I see as he places my pin on my dress. I relax feeling more confident having something for home with me. Cinna takes my hand, giving me an encouraging smile and leads me out. We will be rising up from under the stage and takes me where we'll meet Haymitch. When we find him, he is pacing around with his head down and it isn't until Cinna calls him that he sees us. As he nears us Cinna plants a kiss on my forehead and says, "Breath, smile and wave. They already love you."

I give him a grateful smile and he takes off with a nod towards Haymitch. He's all cleaned up and looks as sober as I've ever seen him. I see him examining me too much and irritated I ask, "What?"

"Nothing," he says, "Come here." He opens his arms and I go into them hesitant. This is the second time he's hugged me out of affection and it's still weird for me. "Make sure to keep up the love act will you? I'll explain more later," he whispers into my ear so nobody close can hear.

I look at him confused as he draws back. "Did you tell Gale this?" I ask in a conversational tone.

"Yes," he says in his normal voice, "Got it?" I nod but my expression must have shown my predicament because he adds, "Smile." I force my lips up in the most winning smile I can master and look at Haymitch. "Excellent. Now go knock them dead," he says and my smile immediately disappears at the last word. He notices his mistake right away but I've already turned around. "I'm sorry," he calls as I walk away.

I try my hardest to keep a straight face as I enter the tube that will rise me up to the stage. All my excitement has been drained and I'm left feeling empty. I can't break down now, I tell myself. The cheers on the stage let me know they're presenting out team, Effie, Haymitch and our stylists. I can almost make out Gale on the other side so I focus on him. I feel myself rising and my legs start to shake. There's a sudden crack of light as I reach the stage that blinds me. I hear the roaring of the crowd and when my eyes adjust all I can see is him. I find him tall and handsome as ever, his gray eyes find mine and shine bright with happiness. I run towards him and he's ready to catch me in his arms. He spins me in a circle with his strong arms and crushes me towards him when he lets me down. I look up towards him and my breath is taken away as his lips meet mine. All I feel are his warm soft lips against my own and his strong arms around me holding me protectively and securely against him. It's as if everything around us has disappeared and it's just us here and now. I feel my legs crumble beneath me as I melt deeper into the kiss but Gale supports me. When he finally lets go and we break the kiss I see the happiest smile form on his face and the undeniable truth hits me. I've fallen truly, madly and deeply in love with him.

The roaring of the crowd brings me back to my sense and my face begins to heat up. Gale holds me close to him by the waist and I try to hide my face in his chest of embarrassment. After a few moments of this, I regain control and look out at the crowd. Their cheering has continued throughout all this time and they don't seem to be getting tired. Caesar motions for us to come and sit down in the love seat to get the film rolling. Gale pulls me in close by his side and I feel comforted knowing he's here and I won't have to suffer through this alone. Caesar makes a few comments and then let's the show begin.

The whole thing lasts three hours and throughout all that time I'm holding my breath. I wasn't prepared for this, I wasn't prepared to relive all the horrible moments that happened in there and I was definitely not prepared to see Rue die once again. I try to keep my emotions in check since thy have a camera on us, but as I see the pink bird fly towards her, I let out a small whimper and turn away before I can see the rest. Gale tightens his hold on me and grabs my left hand in his right. He's the only one that's keeping me here and not running off the stage. Of course, everything after that moment focuses on Gale and me and our growing romance. I try to view it as if I was at home like the audience and as I watch out first kiss unfold, I find it very genuine and passionate. Don't get your hopes up Madge, I tell myself but I feel Gale's lips on the top of my head and all my worries disappear.

The final fight with Clove and Cato is just as horrible on screen as it was living it. This time, I get to see Gale's side of it, how Cato kept charging at him so that they would get further away from Clove and me. I watch horrified as the girl that looks like me plunges the knife into Clove's stomach. She looks like me because she isn't me. I'm not a murdered. But in the back of my mind I know it's a lie. Again, I resist the urge to get up and leave but Gale's hand tightens in mine as we watch Cato attack me and them out of nowhere Gale appears and gives Cato the last blow.

We watch as we pass out and then there's silence. Gale and I watch confused why they haven't announced us winners. There are murmurs in the audience but then Claudius Templesmith says through the speaker, "Ladies and gentlemen may I present to you the winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games. We hear the cheers that we missed that that came from the speakers and the crowd here joins in. For a dramatic finish, the last scene is one of the two of us lying next to each other and then slowly it zooms in on our clasped hands.

The audience continues to cheer and the Anthem plays as President Snow walks on stage with a little girl carrying the crown. We watch as he gives the crown a twist and it separates into two halves. His face is calm and cheerful, but as he turns towards us we see his cold, snake like eyes. He places one half on my head and says in a serene voice, "Congratulations Miss Undersee." His eyes can't hide the hate and real unhappiness he feels. He moves on to Gale saying, "Congratulations Mr. Hawthorne," and places the other half of the crown on his head. Gale's faint smile confirms he is also aware of the President's dislike of our survival. The crowd cheers loudly as we wave and bow and after some time of this we are guided away and sent to the President's mansion for the Banquet. It's not actually a Banquet since most of the time we spend taking pictures with sponsors and other important people. We smile and talk and Gale doesn't leave my side until we get back to the training center in the middle of the night. I want to talk to him but Haymitch follows us to our rooms. I wait by my door and gale waits by his but Haymitch just stand there.

"Well," Gale says after a moment, "Are you going to leave?"

"Oh, of course," Haymitch answers, "Just until you both enter and shut your doors."

"Why can't we talk?" I ask him irritated.

"You'll have plenty of time to talk later," he says and Gale and I exchange looks.

We don't bulge and neither does Haymitch. "Fine," I say exasperated and roll my eyes at him. "Goodnight," I say and get one last look at Gale before I slam my door.

The whole night is a drag, but I pull through it and in the morning my prep team greets me with their enthusiastic attitude and start preparing me for the final interview before going home. Cinna walks in later with my dress and tells the team he'll finish getting me ready. This time he has chosen a white dress made of thin cloth that is a soft as silk. My hair has been left loose once again and my makeup is simple but it gives me a glow.

The interview will take place in the sitting room without any audience which is the most comforting part. When I enter the sitting room, I find all the cameras stationed and all the crew getting ready. Gale is already her and is pacing around until he sees me. He looks handsome as always and it is until now that I see how he has recovered, looking as healthy as ever. He walks towards me and grabs my hand saying, "We need to talk."

I nod but as I'm about to respond Caesar Flickerman enters. "There they are, the two lovebirds," he says when he sees us.

Talking will have to wait. We settle into the loveseat across form Caesar and the camera man counts down. "3, 2, 1, and were live." Caesar welcomes the audience at home and starts with a few jokes. I remember Haymitch's words from yesterday and know that I'll have to be prepared to pour my heart out so our love story continues. Like in the interview, he makes small talk at first then starts prompting direct questions.

"Madge, let's start with you, how did you feel when Gale first made his confession in the interview before the Games?" he asks raising a blue eyebrow.

"To be hones Caesar, I was confused," I say with a sigh.

"Why is that?" he says prompting me to continue.

"Well, you see, back home Gale had always been indifferent with me so to find out he had feelings for me was a bit of a shock," I say and then look at Gale, "But as the Games progressed he proved to me that what he felt was true and that's when I began to fall for him."

"Gale I think everyone is wondering when exactly was it you discovered you felt something for Madge," Caesar says with real curiosity in his eyes.

"Well," Gale begins, "I think back home I had always had a crush on her but I knew the idea of this happening was next to impossible. I would say that it was when we were here and we really talked for the first time and I got to know her better that I knew what I was feeling was real."

"Madge did you have any idea that he cared for you?"

"Like I said before Caesar, it came as a bit of a surprise to know he liked me, especially because we were so different. At least I thought we were, once I got to know him I realized how alike we really are," I respond.

A small smile forms in Gale's lips as he stares down at our entwined hands. "Now, Gale you knew that only one of you could come out of these Games, so what was your game plan, what were you going to do?" Caesar asks.

"I think everybody can predict what I was going to do. I was going to go in there and against all odds I promised myself that I would protect her and do whatever I could to get her out, and that's exactly what I did," he says staring at me. His gray eyes are light and clear and I wish with all my heart that every word he was saying was true.

"I think we are all witnesses of your love here, so my last request of you is to describe what that feeling was when you found out both of you could win," he says reclining back in his chair.

"To me it's indescribable," Gale says surprisingly, "I think that's the happiest I've ever felt. I never dreamed or thought I would fall for someone like I've fallen for her. I wouldn't be complete without her; she's the best thing that's ever happened to me." His lips touch the top of my head and a warm feeling spreads through my body.

"Madge?" Caesar asks.

Here we go, I think to myself. "I felt relieved, I felt like I had hope and I felt like the luckiest person in the world. I've never truly known the meaning of love until Gale came into my life and became a part of me. Without him I'd be nothing, I wouldn't be able to move on with my life because he became and is my life now," I say looking directly at Gale now wishing that what everything I've just said was a lie, but the only thing I can't do is lie to myself.

Gale leans in and gives me a sweet kiss that lingers for a few moments, taking my breath away and then Caesar thanks us and sings off.

The camera crew begins to pack things us and soon it's just us left with Haymitch, Effie, Portia and Cinna. "You both did magnificent," Effie exclaims and the surprises us by giving us both a hug. "Believe it or not I'm going to miss you."

"We'll see you in a couple of months Effie," I say reassuring her.

"Yes, yes. Well, you must be going now, the train is waiting," she says sniffling.

I go straight to Cinna and he opens his arms. "Call me whenever you need to okay," he says and releases me. I nod and he plants a kiss to my forehead. This isn't goodbye, we'll see them for the victory tour but I'm really going to miss him.

In an hour we arrived at the train station and waved at the audience as they watched us go. Now, I sit in my compartment thinking of home. Dad will be proud and I'm sure mom as well. I hope she didn't suffer watching the games or at least that dad kept her from watching. Things will change, I tell myself. I have changed. I feel it now and I've felt it ever since we entered the arena. I'm not the same little innocent girl I was before and I will never be her again.

My thoughts get clouded and I decide to go walk around. I end up in the last car where Gale and I sat the day we became allies. Things changed between us too and unfortunately I fell head over heels for him without realizing it. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I tell myself shaking my head. I'm so deep in my thoughts I don't notice Gale at the door. "Thinking much," he says when I finally see him.

How long has he been standing there? "Yeah, you?" I say as he sits down next to me.

"Yeah," he says and there's a silence as I wait for him to elaborate but he doesn't, he just looks out at the landscape that passes us. After a while I give up, I had thought that by now he would have the gotten over the habit of keeping everything to himself but apparently not.

I start to think he'll go back to the way he was before but as the train stops for fuel, he gets up and extends his hand out to me. "Come on," he says, his voice low but clear.

I take his hand without hesitating and we entwine out fingers. He leads me out and we start walking away from the train. After we're a few yards away he halts to a stop. He steps in front of me and starts pacing. I look at him confused as he continues. "What's wrong?" I finally say.

"It's just," he begins but continues pacing, "I have to tell you something but I don't know how." He stops but when he meets my eyes he shakes his head and starts pacing again.

An instinct tells me I know what he want to talk about, but part of me is afraid of asking. He's probably going to tell me how we won't be able to talk anymore back home. That everything he did or said was just to keep us alive and none of it matters anyway since we were both acting. No, not both of us, after a while I just stopped acting and let myself feel, but he doesn't know that. _Pick up the courage Madge_, I tell myself. Before he says anything I have to tell him my side of it. I know it's going to hurt when he rejects me but I can't hold it in anymore. _Be brave_, I repeat in my head. "Gale, I have something to tell you too," I tell him but he doesn't stop. "Gale," I repeat.

"Just wait a minute," he says.

I step in front of his path and put my hand up to stop him. "Gale," I repeat once more a little louder once he bumps into my hand. Finally, he looks up and meets my eyes. "Look, what I'm about to say isn't going to be easy to take in. In fact, it's going to be really hard to take in but I felt the need to tell you because I want us to be honest with each other," I say and now I'm the one pacing, "I really hope that what I'm about to say doesn't change anything between us but if it does, than I'm sorry, you can blame me for it. So I'm just going to go ahead and say it-"

"Madge," Gale interrupts me and I stop talking, "You're rambling."

"Yeah, right, sorry," I say and an amused look appears on his face. "Okay, you know how Haymitch planned this entire romance thing for the audience to feel sympathy for us and told us to act right?  
>I say and he nods, the amused look long gone. I come to a halt in front of him and with a determined look I say, "Well, I wasn't pretending."<p>

I stare up at him waiting for a response but his face is expressionless. I don't know how long he stands there without saying anything because once he moves I'm caught by surprise. I gasp when he reaches for me and lifts me off the ground. Just like before he start spinning me around but at the same time he's laughing. It's such a beautiful sound; it fills up my mind and clouds it from any thoughts. My arms are locked tightly around his neck but I'm laughing with him. "Gale!" I shriek and he continues laughing but sets me down on my feet. He doesn't let go and neither do I. He sets his forehead against mine and his chuckles continue. I smile at the sight but I'm also curious. "What's so funny? Please don't tell me you're not laughing at me."

"No," he says and his gray eyes find my blue. "I'm laughing because I stopped pretending too, after a while."

"So…what you're saying is…" I say trailing off not believing what I just heard.

"What I'm saying is that I fell for you, Madge," he says is softly but boldly, his breath on my face. "You pulled me in deep and now I can't get out. But thing is, I don't want to."

"Wow," I say, the hugest smile spreading across my face, "That was deep."

"Great," he says, "Now you're the one laughing at me." He pulls back and frowns at me.

"Not laughing," I tell him, "I'm radiating my happiness."

I give him the biggest smile and he reaches down and touches my cheek. I feel my heart race as he leans down. His lips barely touch mine when a voice makes us jump. "So the lovebirds finally figured it out." We both look up to see Haymitch strolling up to us with a little smirk plastered in his face. "Makes my job easier to tell you the truth," he continues. He walks up until he's just a foot away from us and feeling uncomfortable I pull away from Gale. "Okay so listen up. The dear President isn't so glad you both got out, that was never the plan," Haymitch says his voice low.

"Like we didn't know that," Gale says rolling his eyes.

Haymitch glares at him and says, "That's good, good that you know he wants you dead, both of you." As he says it he looks at me but his face is softer. "During that little pause you saw when they were supposed to announce your victory, that's when they were planning on back-tracking their statement of letting you both win. Of course, they weren't able to do that since you were unconscious. They audience would be enraged whether they picked on or the other of you so they were forced to choose both."

Dread fills me but not surprise. Of course he wants us dead now, anyone who defies or gets in his way ends up that way. "He thinks that by letting you both live his power, in front of the audiences' eyes, has weakened. That if he let you both out just because he didn't have a choice other people would start to…let's say, act out."

A small smile begins to appear on Gale's face but it's not one I like to see. "You mean…rebel." His eyes are full of ambition and somehow I detect a hint of hope in his voice.

Haymitch looks at him hard and with a cold expression but eventually answers, "Yes." They exchange a look that worried me but neither says anything further.

"What should we do?" I ask Haymitch.

"Well," he begins, "You're still alive because the public loves you and your love story. He wouldn't do anything because it would be too obvious. For now we can't do anything until the tour. Like I said before though, you make my job easier since it's all real. Just make sure to keep that love strong and alive will you."

My cheeks heat up and Gale just glares at him. "Haymitch!" I say my face hot with embarrassment.

"What?" he asks innocently, "We have to make sure it lasts until the tour and if it doesn't, then you can pretend. Although that will be mighty awkward." He begins to walk away, pulling a canteen from his back pocket. "Be happy you're alive now and live life," he holds up the canteen and says, "To the 74th Hunger Games winners!" He turns and walks away.

"That was…something," I say as we watch Haymitch walk away and into the train.

"Sure was," Gale says and pulls me with him towards the train. "Let's go, we're almost home."

We stammer into the train but Gale leads me to the last car again. He sits down and pats the space beside him. I go to his side and he pulls me close next to him. The train starts to move and soon it catches up speed. Gale places his chin on top of my head and I lean in so my head rests at the base of his neck. I feel his chest rise and fall as he takes slow and even breaths. I measure his heartbeat next to mine, hearing every thud and pulse it gives. I'm so comfortable here that I might fall asleep.

"I could get used to this," Gale whispers.

A smile creeps into my lips. "Is that your catch phrase of something?" I ask with a laugh.

"Guess it is now," he says and I can sense the small smile that must be covering his features.

I feel his fingertips in my hair and as they move down to my cheek. He places his thumb under my chin so I look up to him. He leans down and I feel his lips brush against mine for a moment sending a shiver down my spine. He continues giving me light kisses making me feel lightheaded. My skin tingles as his lips kiss my hair, my forehead, my nose, my cheeks, the line at my jaw and eventually my lips. He kisses me slowly and deeply. We continue in this small moment of happiness as the train speeds on, every second bringing us closer to home.

I know things will change, but one think I know for sure is that I won't walk away from this. I'll have to be strong for what's coming and fight for what is right, but Gale will be by my side and with him I know I'll find the strength that will allow me to soar.

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><p><strong>AN: Just give me a moment...okay now you can start complaining. I know I'm probably a horrible person for making you guys wait this long so at least we agree on that. Does anyone read this anymore anyway? Is anyone out there? I'm not going to make excuses or anything. To be honest I just lost the inspiration I had. I will try, TRY to continue the story. It isn't a guarantee but at least it's something. Hope you guys liked it. Feel free to tell me your thoughts whether they're good or bad. Ready, GO!  
><strong>

**P.S.: Do any of you know of any good Gadge fics I can read, I need inspiration.**


	20. The sequel

Hey guys, guess what? I have finally had time to start and go into the story following after the games. I have quite a few ideas of where I want this to go. I won't be following the story line Catching Fire has though so I hope you guys don't mind. To be honest, it's going to take me some time to upload chapters so please be patient. I just couldn't leave this story undone. I want Gale and Madge to have their happily ever after, unlike their story in the books. The story after A Mockingjay about to Soar will be called Taking Flight so look out for it in My Stories. I'll be posting the first chapter soon. Very soon.


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